


A New Start

by Imagine_Bruh



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-12
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2017-12-19 06:31:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 34,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/880532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imagine_Bruh/pseuds/Imagine_Bruh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott and Melissa McCall take in a troubled teen named Isaac as a sort of foster family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Arrival

It was seven in the afternoon and Scott was waiting on the porch waiting for his mom to return from the Child Protective Services.

About a week ago his mom sat him down at the kitchen table to explain that they would be a temporary foster home to a troubled kid who needed a place to stay. Some people from CPS had brought him to the hospital to get him checked out. His mom treated him for several injuries he had sustained. When they mentioned to her that he would have to stay at a local shelter while they figure out where to send him, she spoke up and offered up their home.

Scott admired his mom for that. She has always been a loving and empathetic person. But this is a little crazy.

“’Troubled’,” Scott said. “Troubled how? Is he, like, dangerous?”

“No,” his mom said quickly. “No, of course not. He’s just had a rough life.”

Scott nodded in understanding. After a few moments he asked, “What’s his name?”

“Isaac,” she said.

_Isaac,_ Scott thought. _How can a kid named ‘Isaac’ be troubled?_

“When will he be coming?” Scott asked.

“I’ll be picking him up from Child Protective Services next week.”

So here Scott was. Waiting for this ‘troubled’ kid who was going to be living with him for what could be forever. He knew next to nothing about him. Whatever information he could get from his mother was minimal. He was just six when his mother died and his father became consumed with grief. Just when things started to turn around for the family, Isaac’s brother had died in combat. That seemed to be the final blow. His father lost it and began abusing Isaac, physically and mentally. She wouldn’t go into to detail. She said that it was Isaac’s business and Scott agreed, although he was curious.

There was a chill in the air so Scott hurried back inside and grabbed a jacket off the coat rack by the door. When he returned outside he spotted his mom’s car coming down the road. It wasn’t the greatest car but she wasn’t bothered by it. It got her from point A to point B, she liked to say. It was all she could afford as a single mom with a demanding job.

When she pulled in Scott couldn’t see into the car. There was a wide glare on the windshield that blocked his view. Melissa opened her door and looked at her son, “Hey, honey.” She said with a wave.

A few seconds later the passenger side door opened.

_Here we go,_ Scott thought, taking a deep breath.

Next to the car stood a relatively pale, tall, boy with golden brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was wearing a dark blue zip-up hoodie over a white shirt and dark jeans. Scott’s mom worked her way around to him. He looked at Scott but only briefly before he looked at the ground. Melissa took his arm and walked him over to the steps leading up to the house.

“Scott, this is Isaac.” She said with a smile. “Isaac, this is my son, Scott.”

Scott smiled down at Isaac. “Nice to meet you,” he said holding out a hand.

Isaac looked up and took his hand and shook it. “You too,” he said, returning the smile before quickly turning his gaze back to the ground.

“Well,” Melissa said. “I’ll go get your stuff and Scott here will show you to your room.” She smiled at them both and turned back to the car.

Isaac slid his hands in his pockets. “Thank you,” he said quickly to Melissa.

_He’s so nervous,_ Scott thought.

“Come on,” he said. “This way.” Scott turned and walked inside, Isaac following silently. They climbed the stairs and walked down the short hallway to the guest room. Scott opened the door and walked through to reveal a good sized room with a bed in the far corner all made up with pillows and blankets. There was a nightstand next to the bed and on it stood a lamp that he assumed was new. There was a dresser on the other side where Isaac could keep his clothes. What little he _did_ have probably wouldn’t take up the first two drawers. There were two windows letting in the late afternoon light and a door leading to a small bathroom that included a toilet and sink.

“Well,” Scott said throwing his arms up. “This is it! Hope you like it.”

Isaac still looked very uncomfortable. He was standing inside the doorway looking around the room, his hands still in his pockets. He at Scott and smiled a nervous smile. “Thanks,” he said. “It’s great.” and went back to surveying the room.

Scott didn’t know what else to say and the situation was becoming more and more awkward as time went by. Luckily, he heard his mom working her way up the stairs. Isaac quickly moved into the room as she rounded the corner and came in behind him. She only had one small suitcase in her hand.

_That’s it?_ Scott thought _. That’s all he has?_

“So here’s your bag,” Melissa said. “Feel free to unpack, there’s space all over.” She smiled at Isaac.

“Thanks,” he said quietly.

Melissa looked at Scott. “Honey, why don’t we give Isaac some time to relax and get situated?”

Scott nodded at Isaac as he walked to the door.

“We’ll be downstairs if you need us.” Melissa said as she closed the door behind them.

They walked downstairs and sat on the couch in the living room. “So what do you think?” his mom asked.

“He seems nice,” Scott said. “I think he’ll need some time to get used to living with us. He looks really uncomfortable and nervous.”

“Well wouldn’t you if you had to go live with people you’ve never met before?” she asked him.

“Yeah, I guess.” Scott said looking at the stairs. “I better not wake up to him standing over my bed with a knife.”

Melissa hit Scott on the arm with a gasp. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She matched his gaze, looking at the stairs, and smiled. “I think he’ll do great here.”

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

A couple minutes went by and Isaac came walking down the stairs.

_That was quick,_ Scott thought.

“Hey,” Melissa said sweetly. “Do you need something, honey?”

Isaac fumbled with his hands. “I was wondering if you had anything I could eat?”

“Who doesn’t have something to eat in their house?” Scott said with an edge.

Melissa hit him again and looked at Isaac. “Of course we do,” she said with a smile. “Come on, what are ya hungry for?” She got up and led him to the kitchen.

Scott stayed seated on the couch. The sun was almost down now and he was starting to feel tired. He got up and headed upstairs to his room. He got undressed down to his boxers and went into his bathroom. He brushed his teeth and washed his face, all the nightly routines his mom made a habit of while he was growing up.

Once finished he returned to his room and collapsed on the bed. He could hear mumbled voices coming from the kitchen and a little bit of laughter too.

_Glad they’re already best friends,_ Scott thought. He didn’t know why he had so much animosity toward Isaac. He’d only just met him! But he couldn’t shake a feeling inside of him that suggested something was off about the kid.

He had to know more if he was going to live under the same roof as this stranger.

So Scott waited until he heard Isaac’s footsteps in the hallway and his door closing. He got out of his bed slid on some sweat pants and a shirt and made his way into the hallway. He looked toward his mom’s door, it was closed.

_Night mom,_ Scott thought.

He turned his head toward Isaac’s door and continued forward. Once in front of the door he stopped to listen. There was quiet movement coming from inside and Scott closed his hand around the door knob and twisted.

He walked in to find Isaac sitting up in his bed and the lamp beside him was on. He was reading a book, what it was Scott couldn’t tell.

Isaac looked up and when he saw Scott he visibly became tense.

Scott walked over and stood over his bed and Isaac didn’t say a word. “I was wondering if I could talk to you,” he said.

“S-sure,” Isaac said nervously.

Scott didn’t know what he expected when Isaac arrived, but this wasn’t it. He pictured a hard-ass kid who’s been sent to juvie so many times he had his own room in back. He pictured leather jackets, cigarette on the ear, tattoos and an asshole attitude.

The boy in front of him was none of those things. Instead, here was a kid frightened of his own shadow. Even now he had a hard time looking at Scott. When Scott looked at him, all that animosity he felt seemed to disappear. Now that he was closer to Isaac he could see that he truly was, well, troubled.

Scott sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Isaac.

“I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier,” he told him. “I was being an insensitive dick and it was a horrible first impression.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Isaac said with a brief smile that seemed to Scott was forced. Isaac’s voice started to trail away as he finished. “I’m used to that sort of thing,” and he looked down at his book.

He was reading _Journey to the Center of the Earth_ by Jules Verne.

“Is that good?” Scott asked pointing at the novel.

Isaac looked at it. “Yeah, it’s one of my favorites.”

“I think I saw that movie,” Scott said with a grin, trying to add a little levity to the conversation.

Isaac smiled a little. “Yeah,” he said with small laugh. He held up the book briefly and said, “Books better.” Scott could see Isaac was becoming more relaxed.

“Do you like to read?” Scott asked him.

“Sometimes,” he said. “It’s good to get away for a while.”

“From your dad?” Scott immediately regretted what he just said. Isaac’s demeanor seemed to change in an instant. He wasn’t the smiling boy he was a second ago, he was once again tense. “I- I’m sorry,” Scott started to say.

“No,” Isaac said waving a dismissive hand. “No, it’s ok. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Scott was afraid to say anything. “I didn’t mean to bring back any bad memories or something.”

Isaac forced a smile, “It’s fine.”

They sat in silence for a bit before Scott got up from the bed. “Well,” he said. “I’ll let you get back to your reading.”

Isaac nodded. “Thanks,” and Scott turned and headed toward the door.

He opened the door and stopped and turned back toward the boy on the bed. “Isaac,” he said.

Isaac looked up at Scott. “Yeah?”

“You’re safe here. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.” Isaac’s face didn’t change, he just looked at Scott.

Scott left the room and closed the door. He returned to his room and got into bed and stared at the ceiling.

_This is going to be one hell of a ride_ , Scott thought. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Scott woke up early the next morning for a run. He’d done this every Sunday since he began lacrosse and found it to be surprisingly cathartic. He liked the early morning air, the emptiness of the streets, the small amount of mist that still hung in the air, the sun just creeping over the horizon.

He crawled out of bed, exchanged his sweatpants for some shorts, pulled on socks, and left his room. He glanced down the hallway at Isaac’s door, saw it was still closed, and continued down the hallway to the stairs, descended and went out the door.

It was quiet, as it was every morning, and Scott began his run down the road.

When he returned, the sun was higher up in the sky and he could see neighborhood waking up. Dogs were being let out, people leaving for their various jobs or starting daily errands.

Scott climbed his stairs and went inside. In the kitchen, his mother was preparing her morning coffee at the counter.

“Morning, honey.” She said when she heard Scott approach.

“Morning,” he said. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottled water.

“How’d your run go?” she asked.

Scott took a few gulps of water and capped the bottle. “Good,” he said.

Melissa stopped what she was doing and looked up with a contemplative look. “Maybe I should get in shape.”

Scott let out accidental laugh and threw his hand up over his mouth. His mom turned and gave him a long glare and Scott slowly inched his way back out the kitchen.

Having escaped what could only be certain death, Scott laid down on the couch with his water. He heard the creak of a door opening upstairs. _Isaac’s up,_ he thought.

Isaac came down the stairs and glanced at Scott, gave him a small smile of greeting, and made his way into the kitchen. Scott heard his mother’s voice talking to Isaac.

Curious, he got up and walked into the kitchen.

“-would you be interested in that?” he heard his mom say.

“Interested in what?” Scott asked.

They both looked at Scott. “I was just asking Isaac if he’d like to go to Beacon Hills High. The social worker said he was homeschooled so I thought it would be a good experience for him.”

Scott raised his eyebrows and looked at Isaac. “Oh! What do you think?” he asked him.

Isaac looked down and smiled a little. He looked like a shy little kid who was finally getting attention. “I’m not sure. I don’t really know what’s expected.”

Melissa put a hand on Isaac’s shoulder. “Well that’s ok! Scott will be able to show you around, get comfortable,” she looked at her son. “Right, Scott?”

“Y-yeah,” he said. “Sure, of course.”

Scott could see Isaac’s smile grow larger.

“Great,” his mom said. “I’ll call the school tomorrow and set up a meeting with the principal and hopefully we can get you in by next week!”

Isaac looked at Melissa and then at Scott. “Great,” he said, the smile still plastered on his face.

Scott thought Isaac looked a little too excited about going to school. Maybe that was because he’d never experienced it before.

Scott found himself wondering if he even had any friends. _Oh my God,_ he thought _._ He never thought to ask. But what if he didn’t? Wouldn’t that make things even more awkward between them? Maybe he could introduce him to Stiles? Or Allison and Lydia? _God help him,_ Scott thought.

Melissa patted Isaac on the back and left the kitchen, leaving him and Isaac alone.

“Got any plans today?” Scott asked. Stupid question but Scott wanted to be nice and he had an idea that would hopefully get Isaac to forget about last night.

Isaac shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

Scott smiled a little. “Good,” he said. “How about a trip to the library?”

Isaac looked incredulous. “The library?”

“Yeah,” Scott said with a friendly tone. “I thought since you like books we could get some!” A moment passed and Scott added with a smile, “And maybe you could rub off on me and I can finally become an intellectual.”

Isaac laughed. “You think reading books makes someone an intellectual?”

“Well, no.” he replied. “But it’s a start!”

Isaac stood there looking at Scott. “Ok,” he said finally.

“Ok,” Scott said. “Well I’m going to go get a shower and you can too.”

Isaac made an amused face.

“-when I’m done!” Scott added quickly and left the room. _What the hell, Scott._

He went upstairs and got his shower, brushed his teeth, styled his hair as best he could, pulled on some clothes, and went back downstairs. Isaac was sitting on the chair next to the couch watching tv with his mom.

“Ok, it’s yours.” He said to Isaac. He got up and went upstairs. Scott took a seat next to his mom on the couch.

“Isaac said you’re going to the library?” His mom asked. “I thought it was a joke but he wasn’t laughing.”

Scott made a sarcastic laugh and looked at his mom. “You’re hilarious mom. No, really. You should quit your job. Go on the road.”

She nudged him with her elbow. “No, I think it’s great. I think it’ll be good for him. What made you think of the library?”

“I saw him reading last night. It was a torn up book that looked like he’d had it forever. I thought we’d get him a new one and whatever else he wanted. He really likes books.”

“That must be completely foreign to you,” his mom said in a dry tone.

Scott looked at his mother with a blank stare. “I’m getting sick of your crap, mom.”

Melissa laughed. “I’m sorry, I’m done. Promise.”

Scott heard Isaac on the stairs and got up from the couch. He looked at his mother, “I’ll deal with you later.”

Melissa threw her hands in the air and pretended to quiver. “I’m scared!”

Isaac was at the foot of the stairs now.

 “Oh,” His mom said looking at Isaac. “When you get back we’ll go shopping and get you some new clothes, ok hun?”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that-“ Isaac started to say before Melissa waved her hand in the air cutting him off.

“It’s my pleasure. Besides, if you’re going to start school you’ll need something to make the kids swoon at’cha.” She said smiling.

Isaac’s face started to turn red. Scott walked over to him and took his arm and led him to the door. “Come on. There’s something wrong with her today.”

“Hey!” Melissa said. “I’m perfectly fine, thank you!”

“You’re welcome!” Scott said.

They rushed through the door as his mom yelled, “Be careful!”

They climbed down the steps and headed back to the garage.

“Sorry about that. Sometimes she starts drinking really early.”

Isaac stopped short. “Really?” he asked with surprise.

“No,” Scott replied with a small laugh. “She doesn’t drink.”

They continued down the driveway until they came to the garage door and opened it. Scott went inside and rolled out his motorbike and grabbed two helmets from the table by the door. Scott handed Isaac one and pulled the other over his head and hopped onto the bike. Isaac didn’t move.

Scott looked at Isaac. “Something wrong?” Scott asked.

“No, nothing, it’s just-“ Isaac looked at the bike. “Is that safe?”

“Totally,” Scott said. “Hold on tight and you’ll be fine.” Scott smiled and then realized he was wearing a helmet.

Isaac looked nervous but he pulled on the helmet. He got on close behind Scott and grabbed a hold of him tight.

“You good?” Scott asked.

“So far,” Isaac replied.

Scott let out a small giggle and started the bike. It was loud and noisy, Scott loved it. His mom hated it but she trusted Scott not to be stupid. He revved the engine a few times and sped off down the street, Isaac hanging on for dear life.

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

They arrived at the library and Isaac quickly jumped off the bike. Scott turned on the seat and looked at Isaac. He took off his helmet and said, “Aw, come on. It wasn’t that bad.”

“Tell that to those kids on the bikes!” Isaac said, pointing the direction they just came.

“They saw me!” Scott said, defending himself.

“Barely,” Isaac said with a smile.

Scott hopped off the bike and they walked inside. They walked over to one of the librarians and asked if they could set their helmets on one of the tables. She nodded and they and they turned toward the rows and rows of books.

“Well, let’s begin.” Scott said, rubbing his hands together and they went separate ways. Scott saw Isaac going toward the _Adventure_ section so he decided to check out the sci-fi.

There was a wide range of tastes represented, that Scott was absolutely sure of. One book had three green girls and what looked like a space cowboy on the cover called, oddly enough, _Space Cowboy._

 _Well that seems lazy,_ Scott thought.

He continued down the row looking over all the books but nothing interested him so he moved on to the _Paranormal_ section.  He was halfway through the aisle when he felt his hit him.

 _Oh, come on. I used my inhaler this morning._ He thought and plunged into his pocket to retrieve it when Isaac came up behind him.

“Find anything?” he asked and Scott turned around and used his inhaler. “You have an inhaler?” He asked. He had three books in his hands.

“Yeah, I have a mild case of asthma. It hits me at weird times. It’s gotten better recently; I barely have to use my inhaler anymore except for when I run or exercise.” Scott looked in front of him and picked up a book and held it up to Isaac. “And I did find a book! I’m _super_ excited to read it.” It was _Twilight_ by Stephanie Meyer.

Isaac let out a laugh. “An excellent choice. Well, if that’s not your taste, here.” He held out a book.

“ _1984_ by George Orwell. I think I’ve heard of this one before.” Scott said and looked up at Isaac.

“’Big Brother’,” Isaac said. “It’s kinda depressing but it’s really good. One of my favorites.”

“Alright,” Scott smiled and put _Twilight_ back on the shelf _._ “I’ll give it a shot.”Helooked at the books in Isaac’s hand. “You found those pretty quick.”

Isaac looked at them and said with a smile, “Yeah, I knew what I wanted.” His expression seemed to change instantly. He suddenly seemed conflicted. “Can I ask you something?” Isaac asked.

Scott looked up from his book. “Sure, what is it?”

Isaac looked like he regretted asking. “Why-“ the words seemed to catch and he cleared his throat. “Why are you being so nice? I mean, you just met me yesterday, you barely know me, and yet you’re acting like my best friend.”

Scott was surprised _._ “Well, I don’t know. I guess this is me trying to get to know you.”

Isaac didn’t seem to know what to say. _Has he never had a friend,_ Scott thought to himself.

“Come on.” He said to Isaac. “Let’s check out and get back. You have a date with my mom to get to.” He said and Isaac let out a small laugh.

When they returned home Melissa was where they left  her, on the couch, but now she was all made up to go out.

“How was the library?” she asked as the came through the door.

“Fine,” Scott said. “Isaac found me a book!”

“Wow,” Melissa said with what seemed to Scott as complete and total false enthusiasm. “My boy’s growing up! What’s it called?”

“ _1984_ ,” he told her _._

Melissa gasped. “I loved that book! We read it when I was in school!”

 _Oh, God,_ Scott thought. “They had books when you were in school?” he asked.

Melissa gave Scott another glare and held up her hands. She made a “small” gesture with her thumb and index finger. “This close, son. You’re this close before everyone’s gonna start looking for a body.” Scott laughed and she looked at Isaac, her face suddenly friendlier like a flipped switch. “Are you ready go shopping?” she asked.

“Um, sure.” He said timidly.

“Great,” Melissa said, getting up from the couch. “Let me go get my purse and we’ll go,” and she walked into the kitchen.

Isaac looked at Scott. “Thanks for taking me, today,” he said.

“No problem.” Scott replied with a smile.

A moment later Melissa returned. “Ok,” she said with a sigh. “Let’s get to it. You excited?” she asked Isaac. He nodded. “Me too,” she said excitedly. “I love shopping.” She looked at her son. “Who knows? I might find something for me.”

“You’re going for him.” Scott said gesturing at Isaac.

“Well now _you_ don’t get _anything_.” She said with a look. Scott shook his head laughing and they were out the door.

Now Scott was alone in the house. He walked over to the couch with his book and lay down.

Scott opened to the first page and started reading. _“It was a bright cold day in April….”_

Before he knew it his mom and Isaac were pulling up in the driveway and Scott looked at the clock. Three hours had gone by. Scott had gotten sucked in by the story of Winston Smith and Big Brother. Isaac was right. This _is_ good.

They walked through door carrying multiple bags. “Did you leave anything at the store?” Scott asked.

“The mannequins,” Melissa said setting the bags down and smiling. “We got all kinds of clothes, didn’t we Isaac?”

Isaac held up the bags in his hands. “Tons.”

“Go on, run up stairs and try them on. Put whatever doesn’t fit back in the bag and I’ll take them back later.” Isaac took up the rest of his bags and went upstairs. Melissa walked around the couch and sat down next to Scott, letting out a deep sigh.

“So how was it?” Scott asked.

“It was like pulling teeth.” She said. “He wouldn’t pick anything out.”

“Maybe he didn’t want to be fussed over.” Scott suggested.

“Maybe,” she said and looked at the stairs. “I just want him to feel welcome. I want him to feel at home here.”

“He will,” Scott said. “Like you said, he had a rough life before us. He just needs time to adjust.”

Melissa grabbed Scott’s hand. “When did you grow up so fast?” she asked.

“Grow up?” Scott said, feigning being insulted. “How dare you? I am a child!”

Melissa laughed, “Couldn’t let me have my ‘mom’ moment, could you?”

Scott smiled. “Nope.”

They sat there a few moments until Melissa got up from the couch. “Well, I guess I’ll start dinner. Spaghetti alright with you?”

“Sure,” Scott replied and she walked to the kitchen.

He looked down at the book in his hands and then to the stairs. _I wonder if he even knows what a ‘home’ feels like._

 


	5. Chapter 5

It was Monday morning and time for school again. Scott was getting ready as he always did: shower, teeth, shirt, pants, socks, shoes, and out the door to meet his mom before she went to work by her car.  Today, Isaac was with her in his brand new clothes- a thin, grey V-neck sweater with the sleeves pulled up over a white shirt and jeans. It fit him pretty well considering how tall he is. They were meeting with the principal at Beacon Hills High to get into the curriculum. It was still pretty early in the year so he wasn’t missing much and he’s sixteen so he would be a junior with Scott.

He walked down the steps to where his mom and Isaac were standing by the car. Isaac looked a bit nervous, but who wouldn’t be? Starting public schools for the first time? _It must be nerve-racking_ , Scott thought.

“Ready for your first day?” Scott asked him.                                    

“It’s not my first day,” he said with a small laugh. “I’m not even enrolled.”

“Yet,” Scott said with a grin. “Don’t worry it’s not so bad.”

Isaac just smiled nervously.

“Well, let’s get going,” Melissa said. “I don’t want to make a bad first impression by being late.”

They got in the car and reversed down the driveway. Scott saw Isaac look up at him and he waved. Isaac waved back timidly and they were gone down the road. Scott turned to the garage and started walking. He looked up at the sky and said quietly, “Give him a chance.”

He got his motorbike out, put on his helmet and drove off to school.

When he got there already dozens of people walking into the school and it was worse inside. The halls were crowded, as they always were, and Scott was shoved once or twice but he finally made it to his locker. He put in the combination and opened the locker door. 

“Miss me?” he heard from a voice behind him. He turned around to see Stiles standing there with his arms open wide.

“Stiles,” Scott said.

He rushed up beside him. “What’s up, man? I barely heard from you this weekend! How’s the new kid thing going?”

“His name is Isaac,” Scott said flatly. “And it’s not too bad. He’s actually pretty cool.”

Stiles made a sad face. “That’s so cute.”

“Shut up,” Scott said with a smile.

“So what are you guys like best friends now? Am I out? Am I being replaced? I am, aren’t I? You’ve replaced me. Two days? That’s what it took-“ the words came spilling out of his mouth.

“STILES,” Scott yelled and put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. “Calm down. No one’s getting replaced.”

“Good,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. He looked around the hallway, “Cuz I don’t think anyone else could handle this.” He made a sweeping gesture up his body.

“Good point,” Scott said, laughing. Scott saw Stiles look behind him.

“She could,” he said and Scott turned around. At the end of the hallway stood Lydia talking to Allison. He turned back around.

“You know you have absolutely no chance with her right?” he asked him.

“You say that now, but when she gets tired of Allison she’ll come straight to me.”

Scott laughed. “Sure.” He closed his locker and they started walking down the hallway away from Lydia. “There has to be somebody else you could set your creepy eyes on.”

Stiles looked at Scott and said in a feigned voice, “That hurt, Scott. I don’t know why you treat me like this. I don’t know. What about you? You have your eye on anyone?”

They passed the principal’s office and inside Scott say his mom and Isaac sitting in waiting chairs. Isaac looked terrified.

“Whoa, was that him?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah, Isaac.” Scott said.

“He’s not what I expected. He hasn’t tried to kill you yet has he?” he asked with a laugh.

Scott shoved him on the shoulder. “No, Stiles, he hasn’t tried to kill me.”

They walked into their first period class sat down at their adjacent desks.

“I’m just saying,” Stiles said. “Sometimes kids from broken homes go berserk and just start…. maiming.”

“When has that _ever_ happened?” Scott asked. “Name one time that’s happened.”

“W-well,” Stiles started stuttering. “I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of crazy kids who kill people, ok?”

“Isaac’s not crazy.” Scott stated.

“You’ve known him two days. It took Andrea like weeks before she realized the Governor was crazy and kept floating zombie heads in his closet.”

“Really?” Scott asked in disbelief. “You’re throwing fictional characters at me now?”

Stiles threw his arms up and made a face. “Well….”

“I’m done talking about Isaac.” Scott said and the bell rang.

“Ok, class let’s get started. I know it’s Monday but bear with me and the next hour will be as painless as possible,” said Mrs. Blake, their English teacher. Scott remembered think she was young for a teacher on the first day of class. She’s new this year so Scott didn’t know much about her.

The rest of the day went rather quickly. Not a whole lot is ever done on the first day of the week, a blessing Scott was thankful for. He never really got up and running until about Thursday. After the final bell rang Scott went to his locker. He gathered his homework into his backpack and closed the door to find Stiles standing beside it again.

“Oh,” Scott said, a little startled.

“Heads up, here comes killer! See you tomorrow.” he said quickly and took off in the opposite direction.

“Who was that?” Isaac asked him.

“That’s just Stiles.” Scott replied.

“Why’d he run away?” he asked with a confused look.

“He’s convinced you’re a killer,” Scott said as a matter of fact.

Isaac raised his eyebrows. “Oh!” he said. “Well, I’d watch your back then.”

They laughed and Scott asked, “How’d the meeting go?”

 “Good,” he said. “He said I could start on Wednesday.”

“That early?” Scott said with a little surprise.

“Yeah, they already printed up a schedule.” He held up a piece of paper. “I’ve been walking through the halls between classes to get my bearings.”

Scott made a face. “By yourself? Where’d my mom go?”

“She had to go to work. She was the one who told me to walk around and wait for you.”

“All day? I didn’t see you,” They started walking down the hallway toward the door.

“Well I sort of hid in the bathroom until everyone was out of the hallway.” Scott started to laugh and Isaac started to too. “I know. I’m a total baby.”

“No, you’re just nervous about starting a new school. We’ve all been through that. When I moved from the junior high to the high school I almost wet my pants on the first day, I was so nervous.”

Isaac laughed, “Really?”

Scott nodded. “It was horrible! Stiles didn’t even show up. He got one look at all the older kids and made his mom take him back home. He finally showed up on the third day.”

Isaac smiled. “Well now I feel better.”

They walked out the doors and to the parking lot. They got to Scott’s motor bike and climbed on. Scott handed Isaac the helmet. “Here,”

“You’re driving, you need it.” He said.

“I’ve ridden this thing hundreds of times. You need it more.” Scott said pushing the helmet into Isaac’s hands. He took it and pulled it on.

“Thanks,” he said and they took off toward home.

 _Give him a chance,_ Scott thought.

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

When they got home Scott collapsed on the couch and Isaac snickered. “Your day was _that_ rough, huh?”

“Hey,” Scott said. “You’ll understand.”

Isaac walked to the chair and sat down. “Don’t remind me.”

Scott smiled a little. “Let me look at your schedule.” Isaac handed him a piece of paper and Scott examined it.  After a few moments Scott said, “Well, we have three classes together: English, chemistry, and American History.”

“Well if I need help I’ll know who to ask.” Isaac said.

Scott laughed, “I think you’d have a better chance if you asked Lydia.”

Isaac made a confused face, “Who’s Lydia?”

“Lydia Martin. She’s a crazy smart girl. I’ll introduce you, she loves showing off,” he said with a smile.

“Ok, thanks.”

Scott handed back the paper and lay down and yawned. “Ugh, I’m tired.” He got off the couch. “I think I’m going to go take a nap or something.”

“O-ok,” Isaac said and smiled. “I’ll try not to kill you while you’re asleep.”

Scott laughed. “Thanks,” and he walked up to his room leaving Isaac downstairs.

 He collapsed on his bed and let out a big sigh. “Killer,” he said quietly to himself. _Even as a joke it doesn’t make sense_. How could Stiles think Isaac was a killer? He’d just have to get to know him.

Scott found himself trying to imagine what it was like for Isaac before he came here. What exactly happened when he was with his dad? How long had it been going on? Could Stiles be right? Is Isaac just trying to hide what’s going on inside?

Scott couldn’t keep out his curiosity so he got up and walked over to his desk. He opened his computer and opened Google. He typed “symptoms of parental abuse” into the search bar and a multitude of results popped up. He clicked on the first link and began reading.

He finally stopped when he heard his mother pull into the driveway. He’d been reading and searching for two hours. He closed his laptop and pulled back a little from the desk. _How could people treat their kids like that,_ he thought. He had read case studies and police reports among other things. He saw pictures of kids who had been beaten and abused a thousand different ways. Burned, broken limbs, starved, it was despicable. And that was what was visible. Emotional abuse is, in some ways, worse.  And most of the kids blamed themselves! They felt they deserved it in some way. They tried to rationalize why a parent would do this and the only way to do that was to assume they were at fault.

Scott felt horrible. He had been treating Isaac like nothing had ever happened. That he was this normal kid who was staying with them for a while. _Isaac never said anything_ , he thought. _But what if he was just hiding his emotions?_

He got up quickly from the chair and went downstairs. Melissa was walking through the front door with bags of groceries.  “Oh, honey.” She said. “Can you help me with these?”

Scott looked into the living room, Isaac wasn’t there anymore. He looked back at his mom. “Sure,” he said and took a few bags off her arm. They walked into the kitchen and set the bags onto the table.

“Where’s Isaac?” Melissa asked.

Scott shook his head. “In his room, I guess.”

They started to put away the groceries. “How was school?”

“Not too bad. How was work?”

Melissa sighed. “Horrible. We had a four year old come in with a hundred and one degree fever. Girl wouldn’t stop crying and screaming. Then, we had a guy who crashed his car into a mailbox. You know, the big blue ones? He went on for ten minutes about how he was going to sue the city. The guy was drunk, can you believe that?”

“Sounds crazy,” Scott said.

“Right? And then this poor girl came was brought in. She had a horrible epileptic seizure. I guess she had stopped taking her medication and so I had to tell her mother. Needless to say, she wasn’t happy.” She paused and looked at Scott. “Are you ok, honey? You look uneasy.”

“Oh,” Scott said. “I’m ok. Just fine,” and he forced a smile. He was still thinking about what he just read.

Melissa didn’t look convinced but she said, “Ok,” and finished putting away the groceries. “Why don’t you go upstairs and see what Isaac wants for dinner?” She asked him.

“Sure,” Scott said and he turned and left the kitchen. He walked up the steps and down the hall to Isaac’s room.

He knocked on the door and heard a faint “come in” from the other side. He opened the door to see Isaac sitting on his bed, reading one of his books.

“Mom wants to know what you want for dinner.” Scott told him.

He looked confused. “I don’t know, I guess whatever you guys want,” he said.

Scott nodded and looked at Isaac.

“Are you ok?” He asked Scott.

“Yeah,” Scott said quickly. “I was just thinking.” A few moments passed before he said, “Ok, I’ll let her know.” And he closed the door.

After dinner Scott went to his room and Isaac to his. He went back to his computer and the research he was doing. It was around nine o’clock when Scott decided to go talk to Isaac.

He got up and walked out into the hallway. Scott could see light coming from under the door, indicating Isaac was awake. He went to his door and knocked. “Isaac?”

“Yeah?” Isaac asked in a weak voice.

“It’s Scott,” he said leaning into the door.

When he didn’t hear anything Scott opened the door. Isaac was sitting on his bed again, this time without a book. Scott could see his eyes were red. _Was he crying?_

“Everything ok?” Scott asked.

“Yeah, perfect.” Isaac replied, obviously not.

Scott walked over and took a seat next to him on the bed. “Isaac-“

“I said I’m fine.” Isaac said forcefully looking him in the eye. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to talk to you.” Isaac didn’t say anything so Scott continued. “I was reading online about… Well, about abuse victims and-“

Isaac suddenly looked angry and hurt. “What?”

“I wanted to know-“

“Know what? What I went through? ‘Get to know me’?”

“No, I-“

“You think a Google search will be able to tell you all you need to know?” Isaac was getting red and Scott could see his eyes welling up.

Scott couldn’t believe this. It’s like he changed completely from the boy he knew earlier. “I just wanted to help-“

“I didn’t ask for help,” he said.

Scott got angry and couldn’t stop the words from coming out of his mouth, “Well maybe if you would have you wouldn’t be so fucked up.”

Isaac went white, a tear fell from his eye, but his face didn’t change. “Fuck you,” he said quietly and stormed from the room. Scott had never seen someone so hurt.

“Isaac-” Scott yelled but he was gone. Scott got up and rushed from the room.

He went running down the steps and out the front door. Melissa was sitting on the couched and stood up as her son came down the stairs. “What happened? Where’s he going?” she asked quickly.

“I don’t know,” Scott said hurriedly and ran out the door after Isaac, his mom behind him. They ran out into the street. It was dark and cold, and Isaac was gone.

 

 

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

“Scott,” Melissa was shaking. “Get your bike, he can’t be far. I’m going to call the sheriff.” She turned and ran inside the house. Scott rushed to the garage and quickly grabbed his bike and sped out of the driveway.

 _What the hell is wrong with you,_ Scott berated himself. He didn’t mean to say what he did. He just wanted to help Isaac. But he threw it back at him and Scott got angry. _That’s no excuse,_ he thought. He’d been a completely different person when he walked through that door. Scott thought about the library and how calm and, well, _normal_ Isaac was. _I’m such an asshole._

Maybe Isaac wasn’t as stable as Scott thought he was. _What did your dad do to you?_ he thought.

He drove down street after street and most of the town. There was no sign of him. Scott was becoming very worried and it was getting close to midnight now. _If anything happens to you I will never forgive myself._ The moon was high and bright in the sky and it was getting cold. _God damn it, Isaac. Where are you?_

He turned down a road and headed back toward the park one last time. He drove under the archway that led to the park and slowed down, keeping an eye out for Isaac. He rode past a small amphitheater and a baseball field the little league uses. Nothing.

He continued on the road and came to a playground. He was almost past when movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked quickly and saw what looked like an arm protruding out from behind a slide. Scott quickly grabbed the brake and jumped off his bike.

“Isaac?” He called at the shape. It immediately jumped up and starting walking away. “Isaac!”

“Go away, Scott.” He called back angrily.

“Isaac, I’m sorry! Isaac stop!” Scott pleaded. “I was just trying to help!”

Isaac wheeled around. “Help? You think someone like me can be helped?”

 Isaac was yelling so loudly in a voice that Scott had never heard before. He sounded like he was in so much pain. He looked like hell. His hair was a mess; it looked like he tried pulling it out. His eyes and cheeks were stained red.

“Yes, I do.” Scott said just as loud.

“Well, then you don’t know _shit_!” he threw back at him and turned back around and started walking away.

Scott stopped in his tracks. “What the hell did he do to you?” He asked indignantly, his face turning red with anger.

Isaac didn’t stop walking.

“Do you think you’re the only one who’s been hurt by their father?” Scott called to him and he stopped about fifteen feet in front of him. “I haven’t seen my dad in ten years. He left us when we needed him for some woman he met at a bar.” He could feel the sting of tears in his eyes.

Isaac turned his head back to look at Scott. “Don’t you dare pretend it’s the same thing.” He said in a whisper. 

Scott looked at Isaac for a few moments. “What did he do?” Scott asked quietly.

Isaac just stared at Scott.

“Tell me,” he pleaded. “So I can understand.”

“Why do you have to understand?” he asked. “Why the hell can’t you just leave it alone? My past is my own to deal with-,”

“But you’re not dealing with it, Isaac.” Scott said loudly. “You’re burying it. You’re hiding it so far down inside that it’s tearing you apart.”

Isaac just stared.

“I know that your life was shit, and maybe it still is, but you have to start trusting people again.”

Scott could see tears start to fall from his eyes. “I can’t,” he said, almost too low for Scott to hear. “I’ve tried, but I can’t.” He looked at the ground.

Scott stepped closer, only a few feet stood between them. “It’ll take time. You will.”

Isaac looked back up at Scott. “What if I don’t?” he looked like he was completely without hope.

“Then you don’t.” Scott said. “It’ll just be a fact of life for you.” Isaac looked at the ground and Scott came closer, about a foot away and put a hand on his shoulder. “And you have every right.” Isaac looked at Scott. “Come over here and sit.” Scott led him over to a bench on the edge of the playground. Isaac sat in silence looking at his hands in his lap. Scott looked out in front of him. “I don’t know what happened to you. But it was enough to break you and from what I can tell, that’s not easy.” “What I _do_ know,” he said looking at Isaac. “Is that you’re strong enough to overcome whatever bullshit life threw at you when you were too young to handle it.”

Isaac wiped his eyes with his shirt. “I don’t know if I am,” he said quietly.

Scott threw an arm around Isaac. “You don’t have to know. I’m here to remind you. Maybe it was fate, then, that you came to us,” he said with a smile.

Isaac didn’t say anything.

Scott took his arm off and pulled out his phone and sent a text to his mom that he found Isaac, he’s fine, and will be home when they were done talking. He put the phone back in his pocket and looked at Isaac.

They sat there quietly for a while just listening to the sounds in the wind; the insects, the frogs, an owl or two. Despite recent events it was a pretty peaceful and beautiful night.

“My dad, he,” Isaac spoke up. “He wasn’t always… the way he was.” He began to look down and fidget with his hands. Scott only looked at Isaac in silence. “Well, at least, that’s what I remember. He was a good guy, good husband, good job. He never drank, never yelled or got angry. Well, he did but it was never more than a stern look and hands on his hips.” Isaac seemed to smile a little. “He was fun, actually. He’d give me piggyback rides until he collapsed with exhaustion. I remember this one time I actually threw his back out. He fell down and yelled ‘Holy shit!’” Isaac threw his arms up and laughed a little. “I had no idea what was going on so I ran inside screaming ‘dad’s dying, dad’s dying!’ My mom was baking in the kitchen and when she heard me she dropped the bowl she was using and it shattered all over the floor. Turns out dad just strained his back and only needed a trip to a chiropractor.”

“He sounded like a good dad.” Scott said.

“He was,” Isaac replied with a smile. And then his face turned dark and sad. “Then my mom died when I was six. She was leaving work like she did every day. She got two blocks when she got in an accident at a stop light. A semi had run the red light as she was starting to go and took off the front of her car.” Isaac swallowed hard. “She, uh, was rushed to the hospital but there was nothing they could do. She was gone.”

“I’m so sorry,” Scott said quietly.

Isaac only nodded. “My dad was devastated. He’d barely come out of his room to eat or anything. My brother, he took it the worst. He had just turned eighteen the week before and decided that he was going to go off and join the military. I guess he couldn’t stand to see my dad that way and just wanted to get away. I was just a kid so I didn’t really understand what was happening.” He wiped another tear from his eye. “My dad didn’t seem to care what my brother did. He didn’t even say goodbye when he was shipped off to some desert in the Middle East. After a year, my father started to come back. My brother was doing well over seas, he’d gone back to work, and I was starting second grade. Life was starting to go back to normal. And then we got a knock on our door from two men in uniform saying my brother was killed in combat.” Isaac paused. He looked like he was trying to control himself.

 Scott put his arm back around Isaac and gripped him tight.

“That was the final blow.” Isaac’s voice was barely more than a whisper now. “My dad couldn’t feel anything after that. He went numb everywhere and started drinking everyday. He couldn’t be sad anymore so he became angry and took it out on me. Every little thing set him off. I dropped a plate on the floor by accident once and he hurled the shards at me calling me ‘stupid’ and ‘useless’.”

Scott just sat in stunned silence.

“When things got really bad, he’d punish me by knocking me around or locking me in a broken freezer for days. He’d occasionally throw in food but he’d wait until I was near starved so I’d see that I still needed him.”

 _Oh my god,_ Scott thought.

Isaac looked at Scott. “I don’t blame him for what he did. He endured something no husband or father should ever have to endure.” He paused again and looked back down at his hands. “He pulled me out of school and started ‘homeschooling’ me, if you could call it that. He gave me books he found on the internet that were decades old and almost dust. Eventually he just gave up.”

“How did no one know what was happening?” Scott asked.

“I never left the house.” Isaac said as if it were the most normal thing in the world. “When people would ask where I was he’d just tell them I was socially awkward and didn’t like going out. It went on like that until I was fourteen. Almost _seven_ yearsI never had friends, or birthday parties, or Christmases. All I had were the books on the shelves.”

“Why didn’t you try to tell anyone?”

“I tried once. I snuck out while my dad was passed out on the couch. I got halfway into the neighbor’s yard when my dad tore out of the front door and dragged me back inside. It was pointless anyway. They weren’t even home.” He wiped his face again. “That’s when he started locking me up when he left the house. It didn’t matter; I was too scared to ever try again.”

“How did you get away?” Scott asked.

“One night, when my dad got mad, he threw a plate at me. I picked up what was left and threw it back.” Isaac paused. “I don’t know why I did it. It didn’t even feel like it was me throwing it. The shard cut him above his left eyes and he went down. He started to bleed really badly and he came after me. I ran to the door but it was locked. He was so fast.

I ran to a nearby window and broke it. I started to climb out of it but my dad grabbed my leg. I turned around and kicked him hard in the chest and went flying backwards. He landing and hit his head off the floor. He didn’t get back up so I jumped out the window and ran. This time the neighbors were home and they called the police. My father was arrested and I was put into a psychiatric program for a year.”

Scott was in stunned silence.

“During that time I was sent to several therapist and psychiatrists and I played the part. I acted like I was ok, that everything was fine, and they believed me. I guess I learned _something_ from my dad. They released me to Child Protective Services and they put me into foster care. I wasn’t exactly the greatest kid. I was moved around a lot. I got in fights, made trouble for myself. That’s when I met your mom. I had just been taken out of a home and they were going to move me to a shelter because they couldn’t find a family that would take me. I had gotten into a fight with one of the foster kids I was living with and hurt myself pretty bad. The social worker brought me to your mom and she fixed me up and then offered to take me in.” Isaac looked up. “I don’t know why.”

“She’s a good person.” Scott said.

Isaac smiled, “I know. I promised myself that I wouldn’t be any trouble anymore. And I kept that promise for as long as I could. But, I don’t know, I just started thinking and it all came back tonight. I’m sorry.”

“No,” Scott said. “No, no, no. You have nothing to be sorry for. I was an asshole earlier. _I’m_ the one that’s sorry.” He pulled Isaac in and hugged him. “You’ll be ok,” he told him. “You’ll be ok.” The parted and Scott looked at Isaac. “Come on. My mom’s probably having an anxiety attack.”

They got up from the bench, wiped the tears from their eyes and walked over to the bike. They slowly got on and rode toward home.


	8. Chapter 8

When they got back home Melissa was standing on the porch with Stiles’ dad, the sheriff. She saw Scott and Isaac pull into the driveway and ran down the steps mid-sentence. “Isaac!” she screamed. They hopped off the bike and Melissa flew her arms around Isaac. She pulled away and looked at him. HE was still a mess. “Oh my god, are you ok? What happened?”

“I’m fine,” he said. “I just needed to get away for a little bit.”

She made a face that Scott knew meant she was conflicted.

“Let’s just get him inside,” Scott suggested.

Melissa looked at Scott and then back at Isaac. “Are you sure you’re ok?” she asked.

Isaac forced a smile and said, “Yeah.”

Scott put an arm around Isaac and led through the yard and into the house. They went upstairs and went down the hall to Isaac’s room. Scott stopped them in front of the door. “Isaac,” he said and Isaac looked at him. “I just wanted to say, again, that I’m _sorry_.”

Isaac made an emotionless smile. “Don’t worry about it,” he said quietly and went inside the room. He closed the door behind him and left Scott alone in the hallway.

He stood there for a minute, just staring at the door, seemingly paralyzed. _I can’t_ not _worry about it,_ he thought. What Isaac told him was deeply personal and Scott knew he’d never told anyone that before. He wanted to open the door and talk to Isaac. _He needs time to recover,_ Scott thought and turned away from the door. He walked downstairs to find his mom and Sheriff Stilinski standing in the living room.

“Thank you for coming out, sheriff,” Melissa said. She was still shaking a bit, Scott could see. “I just didn’t know what else to do.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. We get runaway calls at least twice a month.” He said smiling. He looked at Scott coming down the stairs. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s better,” Scott said with a sigh of relief.

“That’s good to hear,” he turned back to Melissa. “You need anything else don’t hesitate to call.”

“Ok, thank you, sheriff.” She said.

He turned and walked toward the door, nodded goodbye to Scott as he left the house. Melissa looked at Scott. “What happened?” she asked exhaustedly.

Scott moved over to the couch and sat down and his mom followed. “I went to talk to Isaac after dinner and when I went in his room it looked like he’d been crying. I asked him if he was ok and he told me he was fine. He obviously wasn’t so I tried to tell him I wanted to help. I told him I looked online about abuse victims and he lost it. He said he didn’t ask anyone’s help.” Scott paused remembering the conversation.

“What made him run out of the house?” His mom asked.

_Well maybe if you would have you wouldn’t be so fucked up._

Scott looked down, ashamed. “I got angry and I said something I wish I didn’t and he left.”

She put a hand on Scott’s. “What did you say?”

Scott looked up at his mother. He hesitated before he spoke. He looked back down, unable to look at her. “I was so…. a _ngry._ I just wanted to help him and he threw it in my face. It was like he was a completely different person.”

“What did you _say_ , Scott?”

“I-,” he started to say. He swallowed hard before he spoke again. “I told him that maybe if he _did_ ask for help he wouldn’t be so messed up.”

He heard his mom make a small gasp. “Scott,” she whispered.

“You can’t make me feel worse than I already do.” He said quietly. Minutes seemed to pass as they just sat there.

“Where did you find him?” She asked, finally.

Scott looked up. “At the park. He was sitting next to a slide.”

“God,” Melissa said, looking down and closing her eyes. “I’m going to go talk to him.” She started to get up when Scott stopped her.

“No, let him be alone for a bit. We can talk to him tomorrow.”

She sat back down and put her head in her hands. “I don’t think he should go to school.”

“What?” Scott asked with a bit of surprise.

Melissa lifted her head and pointed a finger at the stairs. “He obviously can’t handle the stress.”

“Are you kidding?” Scott’s voice was rising.

“You have one conversation about what happened to him and look what he did.” She paused and looked at her son. “What do you think those kids at school will do to him?”

Scott only stared.

Melissa grabbed Scott’s hands and looked him in the eye. “He’s a new kid, Scott. They would judge him the second he walked through the door.”

Scott paused. “He wants this, mom,” he said in a low voice. “He wants a normal life. You can’t take something else from him.”

She looked like Scott just slapped her. “You think I don’t know that, Scott? You think I don’t want him to have the life he wants, not to mention deserves?”

“Then let him go to school! Let him go on Wednesday and if he can’t handle it then take him out.” Scott looked her in the eyes. “At least give him a chance.”

Melissa leaned back. She thought a moment and said, “Ok.” She looked at the stairs. “I’m worried about him.”

“I know mom,” he said.

Melissa wiped her eyes and got up. “You should probably go to bed. You’ve got school tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Scott said getting up. He walked over to his mom and gave her a hug. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, honey.” She whispered.

He pulled away and walked up the stairs. He got to his door and looked down the hall. Isaac’s room was dark, no light coming under the door. He felt an urge to make sure he was ok and started toward his door. He gently twisted the knob and opened the door. Lying on his bed, framed in moonlight from the window, Isaac was sleeping. _He looks so peaceful,_ Scott thought. The boy he saw earlier with so much pain and despair was gone. Scott guessed the only time Isaac could truly relax was when he was asleep.

Scott closed the door and returned to his room. He walked over to his bed and let himself fall on top of it. He was so _exhausted_. This night had been one from hell and he didn’t think this would be the last he’d have to endure. 


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning was kind of a blur. Scott was still exhausted from the night before and he got very little sleep. He got ready for school as he always did and left the room. He looked down the hallway at Isaac’s room. His door was still closed. _I guess he’s staying in bed,_ Scott thought.

Before he left the house he grabbed a Pop-Tart for breakfast. His mom hated when he wouldn’t eat a good breakfast but sometimes Scott didn’t have time or he didn’t care.

Today it was the latter.

He went to the garage to get his bike. Melissa had left already because today was supposed to be busy at the hospital and she wanted to get there early to prepare. He hopped on and left down the road.

Scott’s morning classes went by at an agonizingly slow pace. By the time lunch rolled around he was half dragging himself to the cafeteria. Stiles was already at the table when he sat down with his tray.

“Dude,” Stiles said immediately after he sat down. “What the hell happened last night?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Scott said trying to avoid the subject.

“What do you mean ‘don’t worry about it’? My best friend is living with a psychopath-,”

Scott was suddenly filled with anger. “He’s _not_ a psychopath,” he said forcefully.

Stiles sat back in his seat a look of confusion on his face.

Scott let himself calm down. “I’m sorry,” he said. He rubbed his eyes. “I didn’t sleep that well last night.”

“I wouldn’t either with Isaac down the hall,” Stiles said under his breath.

Scott looked at Stiles. “What’s your problem with him?”

“He’s dangerous, Scott. Those kids always are. You think a normal kid just runs away out of nowhere without any explanation?”

“ _’Those_ kids’,” Scott repeated with an edge. “You have _no_ idea what happened.”

“I know that he was in psychiatric care for a year. I know a kid like that doesn’t come away from what he did without something broke.” Scott was in disbelief. “My dad’s the sheriff. I know things.”

“You don’t know anything,” Scott said and Stiles looked like he punched him. He almost got up to leave when Lydia and Allison came and sat down at the table.

Lydia looked at the two of them, “Do I sense a little tension?” she asked.

“No,” Scott said trying to end the conversation.

Stiles looked at Scott and then to Lydia. “Scott’s living with a crazy person and he can’t see it,”

“Isaac’s not crazy!” Scott raised his voice at Stiles.

“How’s he crazy?” Lydia asked Stiles.

“Well, for starters, he’s an abuse victim who spent years being locked up and psychologically tortured by his dad.” Lydia put her hand to her mouth and gasped. “Yeah,” Stiles said in affirmation. “He freaked out last night at Scott’s house and ran away.”

“Scott, is that true?” Allison asked.

Scott looked at Allison. “He’s _not_ crazy,” he said, calmer now. “He’s just had a hard life. Besides, it wasn’t entirely his fault.”

She seemed to have considered what he said. “Can I meet him?” She asked.

 Scott was surprised. He’d wanted to introduce them to Isaac before they found out about what happened to him. Maybe then they wouldn’t judge him like Stiles. “Really?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I want to meet him.”

Lydia looked at Allison. “You do?” she asked her in a disbelieving tone. Allison nodded and Lydia let out a sigh as she looked at Scott. “When can we meet him?”

 

 

“I don’t like this,”

“Shut up Stiles,” Lydia said as they crossed the yard up to Scott’s house. “Have you even talked to him?”

“No,” he said.

“Then how do you know he’s crazy?”

“Did you even hear what I told you at lunch?”

Scott stopped them on the steps and looked at Stiles. “If you in _any_ way bring up his past or what happened last night, I swear to God Stiles, I’ll leave you in the woods somewhere.”

Stiles lifted his hands in a defensive posture. “Message received.”

“And be nice. He doesn’t know very many people.”

They went inside and Scott told them to sit in the living room while he gets Isaac. He climbed the stairs and walked down the hall to Isaac’s room. The door was still closed but he could hear movement beyond the door. He knocked and said, “Isaac? It’s Scott.”

“Come in,” he heard and opened the door. Isaac was sitting on his bed with one of his books. He looked up when he saw Scott and smiled. “What’s up?”

Scott pointed behind him. “I’ve got some people I want you to meet.” Isaac’s seemed to tense. “They’re friends of mine. I think you’ll like them.” _Maybe not Stiles,_ Scott thought.

“O-ok,” Isaac said nervously and slowly put the book down. He got up off the bed and walked over to Scott.

“Don’t be nervous,” Scott said reassuringly. “You’ll be fine.” Isaac smiled timidly. They walked to the end of the hallway and started down the stairs. Allison and Lydia got up from the couch when they heard them coming down the stairs. Stiles stayed seated.

Allison was the first to introduce herself, “Hi, I’m Allison.” She held out her small hand and Isaac shook it.

“Isaac,” he told her shyly. 

“Nice to meet you,” she said with a smile.

He smiled back, “You too.”

Lydia came up beside her and held her hand out too, “Lydia. Lydia Martin.”

Isaac shook it. “The smart one,” he said with recognition. “Scott told me about you.”

Lydia smiled and looked at Scott briefly and back at Isaac. “Oh? What did he say?”

“That you’re like a genius and if I ever needed help to come talk to you.”

“’Help’?” she repeated, confused looking at Scott. “Help with what?”

“With school,” Scott said. “He’s starting tomorrow.”

Stiles spoke up suddenly, “What?”

“Oh,” Lydia said with surprised enthusiasm. “Well I’ll definitely try!”

Scott gestured over at Stiles who was still sitting in one of the chairs. “And that’s Stiles.”

Isaac walked over to him and held out his hand. “I’m Isaac.”

Stiles looked at his hand and then to Scott. _He knows I’m serious_ , Scott thought. Stiles looked back and Isaac and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you,” he said with what looked to Scott like a forced smile.

A few moments of awkward silence passed when Allison spoke up, “So your starting school tomorrow? Are you nervous?”

“A little,” Isaac said. “I was homeschooled for most of my life. I don’t really know what to expect.”

“Well if you have any trouble find one of us,” Lydia said. “And if anyone tries to mess with you I have three people in my phone who will kick their ass.”

Isaac laughed, “Thank you, but I don’t think that will happen.”

“Well the options there,” Lydia said with a friendly smile.

Scott saw Stiles roll his eyes.

“Well, we gotta get going,” Allison said. “Lydia and I have a dinner to get to and she needs at least two hours minimum to get ready.”

“Hey!” Lydia said, feigning insulted. “This,” she gestured up and down her body. “takes time.”

Allison laughed a little and smiled at Isaac. “I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” He nodded and they left waving goodbye. Stiles got up from the chair and walked toward the door. He looked at Isaac and quickly said, “It was nice to meet you,” before turning and walking out the door.

“You too,” Isaac said as Stiles walked down the steps. He turned to Scott, “Is he ok?”

Scott looked at Stiles getting into his jeep and sighed. “He’s…. difficult. You’ll get used to him.” _I hope._

 


	10. Chapter 10

Scott and Isaac were sitting on the couch when Melissa burst through the door. Scott almost had a heart attack and Isaac jumped half out of his skin. “Oh, thank God.” She said when she saw them. She was carrying more grocery bags and completely out of breath. “I was coming home from work and realized I had nothing for dinner.” She set the bags on the ground. “There’s more in the car, can you boys help me?”

“Jesus, mom. You scared me,” Scott said breathing hard. He pulled out his inhaler and took a puff. Isaac started laughing quietly.

“Sorry honey, I just couldn’t hold these bags anymore.”

Scott and Isaac got up and helped her with the groceries. When dinner was ready they sat down at the table to eat. His mom had made what looked like meatloaf, but who knew for sure? She made mashed potatoes, sweet corn, and green beans to go with it.

“This is really good, Miss McCall,” Isaac said.

“I thought I told you to call me Melissa,” his mom replied.

“Oh, sorry,” he said. “It’s really good, Melissa.”

“Thank you,” she said with a satisfied smile.

Scott snickered and Isaac looked at him with a smile.

“So how was school?” She asked Scott.

“Fine,” he said picking up his iced tea. “Another exciting day.”

“Sarcasm,” Melissa said. “Really?”

“Just a tiny bit,” Scott replied. He saw Isaac smile over his cup.

She looked at Isaac. “Makes you want to look forward to it, doesn’t it.”

Isaac laughed, “Oh, ya.”

They finished eating and then Scott and Isaac helped clean up the kitchen. When they were finished they went to their rooms. Scott had homework and Isaac wanted to figure out what he was going to wear on his first day of school. He actually seemed to be excited!

Scott finished his homework and got ready for bed. He pulled on his pajamas, brushed his teeth and collapsed into bed. He was lying there when someone knocked on the door. “Scott?” It was his mom.

“Yeah, mom?”

She opened the door. “Hey, I’ve got to go to the hospital, it’s my turn for the night shift.”

“Ok,” Scott said.

“I looked in on Isaac, he’s already asleep. I’ll probably be back when you wake up.”

“Ok, see you tomorrow.”

“Alright, night honey.”

“Night,” and she closed the door. Scott laid his head down and went back to sleep.

A scream pierced the darkness and Scott shot up out of bed.

_Isaac._

He rushed out of the door and ran down the hall to his room and threw open the door. Isaac was thrashing on his bed, screaming.

“NO! NO! STOP! I’M SORRY!”

His eyes were closed. _He’s having a nightmare._ Scott ran to his bed. “Isaac, ISAAC!” He wouldn’t stop yelling. Kicking and screaming all over.

“DAD! I’M SORRY! PLEASE STOP! PLEASE!”

 _Oh my God._ Scott tried to control Isaac’s thrashing. He grabbed his arms and held them down. “Isaac, you’re ok! You’re ok! ISAAC!”

Isaac’s eyes flew open wide. He was shaking terribly and scared out of his mind. Tears were running down his face.

“You’re ok,” Scott said again quieter. “I’m here.”

Isaac wrapped around Scott and held him tight. “S-Scott,” he said quietly, the shaking making him stutter.

“You’re not alone. I’m here,” Scott whispered trying to calm him down. His eyes were still wide with fear.

“I’m ok,” he kept whispering to himself. “I’m ok.” He released his grip on Scott and sat up. He wiped his eyes and composed himself. He looked at Scott. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be sorry,” Scott told him and put a hand on Isaac’s back. “I’d be surprised if you didn’t get nightmares.” Scott got up from the bed and started toward the door.

“Scott,” Isaac said and Scott turned around. “Could you…. stay here? With me?” He looked ashamed to be asking. “Just for tonight?”

“Sure,” Scott said. It’s the least he could do. He walked over to Isaac’s bed and crawled in next to him.

“Thank you,” Isaac whispered.

“Don’t worry about it,” Scott said and laid an arm around Isaac. “You’re safe here. You don’t have to be afraid.”

“I know,” his voice was barely a whisper. “I just can’t escape. Every night I go back there. With him.”

Scott tightened his hold on Isaac.

“He’s gone, Isaac. You’ll never have to see him again.” Scott knew that wasn’t true but he couldn’t stand to see Isaac this way.

“I see him every time I close my eyes,” Isaac said. “He’ll never be gone.”

Scott didn’t know what to say. There was nothing _to_ say. Only time can fix what broke Isaac.

 Scott wished he could say something that would make him feel better. He wished he could make him forget about what his dad had done to him. He knew his soul would always be scarred and he would always be haunted by what he’d done.

“It’ll get better, Isaac.” He told him. “I promise.”

Isaac turned over and looked into Scott’s eyes. After a moment he said, “I believe you.”

Isaac closed his eyes and, after a while, finally went to sleep. Scott found himself thinking, again, how peaceful he looked. And within a few minutes fell asleep too.


	11. Chapter 11

“Isaac,” Scott whispered in his ear. “Time to wake up.” Isaac made a noise as he slowly opened his eyes. “You don’t want to be late for your first day, do you?”

He turned over at looked at Scott and smiled a little, “You stayed,” he said sleepily.

“Of course I stayed,” Scott started to get up from the bed.

“I figured you’d leave when I went to sleep,”

Scott walked to the door and looked at Isaac. He smiled and said, “Get ready, we’re leaving in an hour,” and turned to leave.

“Scott,” Isaac said quickly. Scott turned around looked at Isaac. “Thank you,” he said softly.

Scott gave him a sympathetic smile, “No problem,” and he turned and left. The thought of leaving never entered Scott’s mind. In fact, those few hours with Isaac gave him the best sleep he’s had in weeks. He went to his room and took a quick shower.

After last night, Scott was concerned about how today might go. But he trusted that Isaac could handle it. After all, he has friends now. Lydia and Allison will be there to help him and so will he. _He’ll be fine,_ Scott thought as he got dressed. He left his room and went downstairs to find his mom walking through the door. “Hey!”

She looked at him and said, well, not so much said as made a sound, “Ugh.” She dragged herself over to the couch and collapsed face first.

Scott let out a small laugh, “Rough night?” he asked.

She lifted her head out of the cushion a little and said “So much paper.”

“Right,” Scott said smiling, walking to the kitchen. “Get some rest, mom.” He walked through the kitchen and got into a cabinet for a Pop-Tart. He took one and started to walk away when he stopped. _Isaac._ He turned around and grabbed another. He walked into the living room; his mom was still sprawled out on the couch. _Guess she’s sleeping here._ Isaac was still upstairs so Scott decided to check on him. He put the Pop-Tarts in his coat pocket by the stairs and climbed the stairs.

 He walked down the hall to Isaac’s door and knocked. “Isaac? How ya doin’?” He heard a loud _thud_ and quickly opened the door. Isaac was squirming on the floor attempting to pull on some jeans.

“I don’t think these fit,” he said and stood up. He pulled off the pants and threw them on the bed.

Scott averted his eyes. “Uh, no, I don’t think so,” he said with a laugh.

“I’ll be ready in a second,” Isaac said and Scott nodded, quickly closing the door. Scott cleared his throat and shook his head. He went back downstairs, put on his jacket, and waited for Isaac.

A few minutes later he came down the stairs in jeans that fit and grabbed his jacket off the wall. He looked at Melissa on the couch. “Long night?”

Scott looked at his mom and smiled, “Apparently. Ready to go?”

Isaac took a deep breath. “Yeah, I think so.”

They walked out the door and down the steps to the garage. There was a chill in the air that made Scott zip up his jacket. He pulled out the bike and they pulled on their helmets. Within seconds they were on the bike and off down the road, Isaac, again, holding on as if his life depended on it.

They pulled into the parking lot of the school and to Scott’s normal spot. Waiting there was Stiles, his arms crossed. When he saw them approaching he seemed to tense. They didn’t even get off the bike before he started talking. “Oh, Isaac, I forgot today was your first day,” he said anxiously.

“No you didn’t,” Scott said in the same tone and took his helmet off.

“Your right. Anyway, I need to talk to you. Like now.”

“Can it wait?” He gestured at Isaac, “I’m gonna show Isaac to his locker.”

Stiles looked at Isaac briefly and then back to Scott. “Fine,” and started walking toward the school.

“So he really doesn’t like me, does he?” Isaac said as they started walking.

Scott looked at Stiles walking up ahead of them. “He’s just…. I don’t know, actually. He’s kind of indescribable.” Isaac smiled. “He just has to get to know you is all.”

“Yeah, well,” he said as they climbed the steps to the school. “He doesn’t look too interested in trying.”

They walked into the school and started down the long hallway. It seemed like everyone was watching them as they passed. Scott looked over at Isaac who had his head down. They finally reached Isaac’s locker and he put in his combination. After the third spin it clicked and opened. “It worked,” Isaac said with a satisfied smile.

“Now let’s go get some books to fill it,” Scott said and Isaac closed the door.

“Hey!” Scott looked past Isaac and standing five feet away was Lydia. “Oh my god! Our lockers are like right next to each other!”

Scott put a hand on Isaac’s shoulder. “God help you,” he said quietly and Isaac laughed.

Lydia came over to them, “So what do you think?” she asked Isaac.

“I don’t really know, we just got here,” he said with a nervous smile.

“And we’re gonna be late so let’s get going,” Scott said and they left down the hall.

They came to their first class of the morning, English, and Isaac took an empty seat next to Scott. Stiles was already in his seat and was fidgeting with his hands. He looked so tense.

  It seems every eye in the room was on him and everyone was whispering. The bell rang and Mrs. Blake stood up from her desk. “Good morning, class,” she said over the sounds of clatter from the other students. “Today, we have a new student! Isaac, would you come up here please?”

Isaac gave Scott a nervous look, “You’ll be fine,” he whispered to him.

He got up and walked to the front of the class. “This is Isaac Lahey,” Mrs. Blake said gesturing to Isaac. He lifted his arm and quickly waved at the class. “This is his first day of high school so be kind and welcoming. Isaac,” she said turning to him and smiling. “I hope you enjoy your time here and welcome.”

“Thank you,” he said and quickly returned to his seat. Scott could see he was glad to be sitting again.

The rest of the morning went by pretty quick. After first period Isaac had separate classes so Scott wouldn’t see him until lunch. Stiles pretty much kept his distance all morning. Something was up with him and Scott couldn’t tell what. Was he really that crazy about Isaac? Eventually lunch came and Scott saw Isaac coming to the table with his tray.

“So,” Scott said as Isaac sat down next to him. “How’s your day been?”

“Not too bad,” he said smiling and with a bit of excitement. “I like it here. Everyone’s being really nice.”

Scott smiled, “Good!” He couldn’t believe how well things were going. He thought for sure that by this time Isaac would be full on fetal position in a bathroom stall. “I’m glad.”

Allison and Lydia came a short time later and sat down. Lydia looked at the empty seat to Scott’s left. “Where’s Stiles?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him.” Scot replied. He looked around the room, “Oh, there he is.” He was just walking into the cafeteria with something in his hands.

He quickly walked over to Scott and leaned in. “I need to talk to you,” he whispered.

Scott got up and followed him away from the table to the back of the room. He handed Scott the papers. “There’s something Isaac hasn’t told you.”

Scott unfolded the papers, “What are these?” he asked, confused.

“It’s the police report from the night Isaac ran away from his dad.”

Scott looked up at Stiles. “Why do you have these?” he asked, anger rising.

“Because I knew something was off about him and I was right.”

“What are you talking about?” Scott asked.

“Read,” Stiles said pointing at the papers.

Scott looked at the papers and started reading. When he finished he couldn’t believe it. _He lied?_ Scott looked at Isaac. He was laughing. Isaac turned his head and looked at him and smiled. He quickly smiled back and Isaac turned back to Allison and Lydia.

“Scott, Isaac’s dad is dead. He killed him.”


	12. Chapter 12

“Do believe me now?”

Scott looked down at the paper and then up to Stiles. “I don’t know what you think this means.”

“It means Isaac has major childhood trauma issues,” he paused and looked at Scott.

“What?”

“You just don’t look that surprised. Has he talked to you about this?”

Scott remembered there conversation the other night at the park _._ The memory gave him a chill up his spine. “Yes, he told me what happened.” _Well, not_ everything _._

Stiles made a dramatic face, “And you don’t think there’s any reason to be cautious?”

Scott held up the papers, “You read the report, right?” Stiles nodded his head. “Then you know that Isaac was evaluated by _professionals_ and they said he was fine.”

 _I acted like I was ok, that everything was fine, and they believed me. I guess I learned_ something _from my dad._

“So get over this… _obsession_ you have with trying to prove Isaac is somehow dangerous. It’s people like you who are the reason people like Isaac feel so _fucking_ ostracized and unwelcome in society. Everyone thinks they’re so fucked up they can’t possibly be like us. Isaac is just a normal kid who’s had a lot of _bad_ shit happen to him. End of story.” Scott pushed the papers into Stiles hand and turned to go back to the table before Stiles could open his mouth. Halfway back Scott stopped and turned around.

  _Damn it, Stiles._

He walked back over to his friend. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do… that.”

Stiles looked at him for a long moment. “Apology accepted,” he said finally.

“You just don’t know him,” Scott said. “Come over after school and just hang out. Spend some time with him.” Scott could see the disinterest written on Stiles’ face. “Please? I can’t have my best friend and my new.. friend fighting with each other.” Even though he could be a total pain in the ass, Scott could never truly be mad at Stiles.

Stiles looked at him for a few moments. “I just don’t want you and your mom to get hurt.”

Scott put a hand on Stiles’ shoulder. “No one’s going to get hurt.”

“Fine,” he said after a moment of consideration. “I’ll go. On one condition.”

“Name it,” Scott said quickly. “Whatever gets this behind us.”

“I have to be best man when you and Isaac get married,” he said with a smile.

Scott turned and walked away from Stiles.

“Come on!” Stiles yelled. “I was _joking_!”

Scott walked back to the table and sat down. “Everything ok?” Allison asked. “It looked like things got pretty heated over there.”

Scott looked back over at Stiles who was now on his way over. “Yeah, we’re all good now.”

“You sure?” Isaac asked with a smile.

Scott turned to Isaac and after a few moments found himself staring at his mouth and fidgeting with his ring finger. Scott quickly shook his head, pushing away a particular train of thought, and looked at his tray. “Absolutely! Yeah, just fine.”

 _Subtle_ , Scott thought as Stiles sat down next to him. “So what’s for lunch?” Stiles asked to no one in particular.

“Steak,” Lydia said without missing a beat.

“Are you serious?” Stiles stood up to get a good look at the lunch line. “Hot damn!” He quickly took off to stand in line.

“He’s about to be very disappointed,” Lydia said and they all started laughing.

After school, Scott was at his locker when Isaac came up beside him, his backpack on his shoulder. “Hey, how was your first day?” Scott asked enthusiastically.

“Not too bad,” he said with a grin. “Not what I expected.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“It’s good,” he said, laughing a little.

“Do you like your teachers?” Scott finished loading his backpack and closed his locker.

“For the most part,” he said. They turned and headed down the hallway toward the door.

“Who don’t you like?” Scott asked. “Is it Harris?”

Isaac looked down at Scott. “How’d you know?”

“Because nobody likes him,” Scott said and they laughed as they left the building.

The parking lot was fairly empty by the time they got to Scott’s bike. The kids at Beacon Hills High tend to treat the end of a school day like an escape from prison. They climbed on and took off for home.

They walked through the door and Scott threw his backpack on the floor. Isaac started to make his way up the stairs. He couldn’t get the lie out of his head. _He killed him._ “Isaac,” Scott said quickly.

He turned around on the stairs. “Yeah?”

Scott hesitated. _He’s not ready to tell me._ “Uh, Stiles is coming over later. I just wanted to give you a heads up.”

Isaac smiled. “Thanks. I’ll make sure to stay in my room.”

Scott narrowed his eyes in confusion. “What? Why?”

“Well he clearly doesn’t like me very much,”

“That’s not true,” Scott said. Isaac didn’t look convinced. “Not _completely_ true.”

“See?” He started to go up the stairs.

“Isaac,” he stopped and turned back around with a sigh. “I invited him over so he could hang out and get to know you and see you like I do.”

Isaac looked at him for a few moments. “How do you see me?” Isaac asked quietly.

Scott was at a loss for words. “I-,”

Before he could speak Melissa came through the door. “Oh,” she said, surprised. “Hello boys. You just get home?”

“Yeah,” Scott said quickly. “How was work?”

She passed Scott and went to sit on the couch. She threw herself down and sighed. “Explain to me why I work.”

“Money,”

Melissa made a disgusted face, “Oh, yeah.” She paused, staring off into space. “Money’s overrated.”

Scott and Isaac laughed. They shared a look and Isaac went upstairs, Scott looking after him. He walked over to the couch and took a seat next to his mother.

She put a hand on his knee. “How was school? How’d he do?”

“It was good. He did fine. No hard time from anyone, likes his classes, hates Mr. Harris.”

Melissa smiled. “Well there’s something you two can bond over.”

Scott laughed a little. “Stiles is coming over later.”

“Ok. Is he staying for dinner?”

Scott shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” He looked up at the stairs. “I don’t think he’ll be here long.”

Melissa took a deep breath and got up from the couch. “Break over,” she said and walked to the stairs. “I’m gonna get the hell out of this uniform,” and disappeared upstairs.

Scott leaned back into the couch. Stiles was coming soon and neither he or Isaac wanted to be there. This whole situation was becoming ridiculous. Scott was afraid that one day he might be forced to choose and he didn’t know who it would be. Stiles is his best friend but Isaac stirred something else in him. He feels a connection to him that he doesn’t have with Stiles.

He prayed it wouldn’t come to that.

 


	13. Chapter 13

It was six o’clock when Stiles showed up at the house.

“It’s about time you got here,” Scott said as he closed the door behind him.

Stiles took a seat on the couch. “Sorry, honey, late night at the office,” he said with a grin and looked around. “So where is he?”

Scott walked over to the chair and sat down. “He’s out with my mom. They’ll be back any minute.”

Stiles made a face. “Out?”

“They went to the store or something.”

“Your mom goes to the store a lot,” Stiles said flatly.

“She never gets what she needs,” Scott replied.

Stiles nodded his head. “So what’s the plan for tonight? We gonna sit in a circle, hold hands, and tell each other secrets?”

“Damn it, Stiles,” For once Scott wished Stiles could be serious. “This is important to me.”

“I know, Scott,” he said defensively. “It was just a joke. Lighten up!” When Scott didn’t smile he must have got the message. “Look, I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to judge Isaac when I didn’t really know him. Or care to.”

Scott nodded slowly and leaned forward. “Don’t tell me,” Scott said softly. “Tell him.”

Stiles looked down for a moment and then looked back up. “Do I have to-,”

“STILES,”

“Ok,” Stiles threw his hands up in a defensive posture. “I’ll apologize, geez!”

“Thank you,” Scott said sitting back in the chair. _Maybe this will finally be over._ Just then Scott heard a car pulling into the driveway. “They’re back,” he said getting up.

A moment later Melissa walked through the door carrying a few bags; Isaac behind her with a few himself. She walked passed Scott, “Hey, honey,” and then saw Stiles. “Stiles, nice to see you,” she said with a tone of familiarity.

“You too, Mrs. McCall,” he said with a wave of his hand.

“Stiles,” Isaac gave him a nod and followed Melissa into the kitchen.

“Isaac,” Stiles replied with a nod of his own.

Scott sat back down in the chair and looked at Stiles. “Please.”

Stiles looked at Scott for a long moment and then nodded. “Ok,” he said with a tone that seemed surprisingly….. thoughtful.

“Ok what?” Isaac asked as he entered the room.

“Uh, nothing,” Stiles said quickly as he got up from the couch and walked over to Isaac. “I just came over because I wanted to… _apologize_.. for the way I’ve been acting towards you. It wasn’t fair of me.”

Isaac glanced at Scott and then back to Stiles. He smiled a little and said, “I thought I sensed a little hostility,” and held out his hand.

Stiles looked at it and then to Scott. After a moment he took Isaac’s hand and shook it.

“Apology accepted,” and Isaac released his grip.

Stiles nodded his head and Scott stood up and smiled. He put a hand on each of their shoulders and looked at them both. “Awww. My friends.”

Isaac laughed.

Stiles shrugged off his hand. “Cute,” he said flatly.

“Hey, are you hungry? I was thinking we could go out for pizza or something.”

Stiles shook his head. “Nah, I have homework and my dad’s really been riding my ass lately. He wants this year to be ‘big’ for me.”

Scott let out an accidental snicker.

“Really? My dad shows he cares about my education and you laugh?”

“No, I mean, he’s just going to be disappointed,” Scott said, barely containing laughter. Isaac was trying to keep himself from smiling.

Stiles laughed, mocking them and immediately went as still as stone. “You’re hilarious. I’m leaving. See you at school.” He turned and headed for the door.

“Bye,” Scott said, still giggling.

“I’m sorry, Stiles,” Isaac yelled after him.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said and was out the door.

Scott turned to Isaac. “What about, you? Are you hungry?”

“Yeah, I could eat.”

Scott smiled. “Awesome, I’ll go tell my mom we’re leaving.”

“Alright,” Isaac said.

Scott went into the kitchen and his mom was still putting things away. “Didn’t you _just_ go to the store the other day?”

She stood up from one of the cabinets and looked at him. “I forgot some stuff.”

Scott raised his eyebrows. “’Some’?”

Melissa put a hand on her hip. “Hey, some people can’t afford to have stuff like this.” She gestured around the kitchen. “You should be grateful.”

Scott shook his head. “Well, me and Isaac are going to go out for pizza.”

Melissa let out a long sigh. “First of all, ‘Isaac and I’. I didn’t send you to school for you to sleep through it. And second,” she said and hesitated. “Good, because I don’t have anything to fix. DAMN IT.”

Scott laughed. “We’ll bring you back something.”

“Thank you,” she said and went back to putting the groceries away.

Scott returned to the living room and Isaac was standing by the door. “Ready to go?” Scott asked.

“Yup,”

They left the house and got the motorbike out of the garage. They hopped on and took off down the road.

The sun was starting to set as they pulled into the parking lot of a local pizza place. They hopped off and headed inside. The restaurant was pretty crowded but they were seated rather quickly seeing as how there were only two of them. They took their seats in a booth and the waitress handed them menus and took their drink order and left. They both ordered Iced Teas.

“So what should we order?” Scott asked.

“I don’t know,” Isaac said looking through the menu. “What’s good?”

“Well, the pizza’s pretty good,” Scott replied. “So are the sandwiches. Pretty much anything but the mozzarella sticks. Those taste like ass.”

Isaac looked up from his menu with a smile. “Ass, huh? And how do you know what ass tastes like?”

Scott faked a laugh. “Funny,” he said. “That’s really clever.”

Isaac did a little bow in his seat. “I’m here all week.” He looked back down at his menu. “So,” he said. “How’d you get him to do it?”

“Him do what?” Scott asked confused.

“Stiles,”

“Oh,” Scott said. “He has to be best man at our wedding.”

Isaac’s laughed and looked confused. “What?”

“It was his only condition,” Scott said laughing.

The waitress returned with their drinks and set them on the table. They said thanks and she walked away.

“Why would he say that?” Isaac asked still smiling.

Scott shrugged. “It’s Stiles. I have no idea.” He found himself rubbing his ring finger again and immediately stopped. He picked up his cup and took a long drink.

“Still,” Isaac started to say. “We’d make a pretty hot couple.”

Scott starting choking and soon everyone in the restaurant was looking at them.


	14. Chapter 14

Their waitress had come and taken their order. Scott ordered them a medium pepperoni pizza. “Alrighty,” she said smiling really big. “I’ll put the order in!” She took their menus and walked away.

 “I haven’t had pizza in a long time,” Isaac said smiling. “I’m excited!”

Scott couldn’t help but giggle. “Excited? Really?”

Isaac laughed. “Yes, I’m excited! So are you sure you’re ok?” Isaac asked.

“Yeah,” Scott gestured to his throat. “Just went down the wrong pipe.” He wanted nothing more than to move on from what just happened.  “So did you meet any new people today?”

Isaac gave Scott a look that said he knew what Scott was doing but he went along anyway. “Yeah, a few. There was a girl in my art class. I think her name was Erica? I can’t really remember.”

Scott was surprised. “Erica Reyes?”

“Yeah, that’s it!”

Scott knew her. She doesn’t talk to anyone. A few years ago she had one of her seizures during class. She was epileptic and had difficulty keeping it under control. She was put on medication that had pretty bad side effects. She gained weight and became covered in acne. Everyone steered clear of her after that. Scott tried to talk to her once or twice but she always made up an excuse to leave. He guessed she didn’t think his friendliness was genuine. He sees her every now and then in the hallway, always with her head down.

“I was put in the desk next to her. She’s really good from what I saw. And nice.” Isaac reached down and took a drink of his tea.

“What did you guys talk about?” Scott asked.

“Not a lot. She was pretty quiet.” Isaac smiled. “She seemed more nervous than _I_ was. Since I’m new, she asked me where I was from. I told her I was homeschooled mostly. She asked me why anyone would trade _that_ for high school.” Isaac’s smile was gone.

“She didn’t know,” Scott said. He understood why she said it though. Since her attack Erica has become something of a pariah. Scott wasn’t entirely sure she had any friends.

“I know. We didn’t talk much after that.”

Just then their waitress returned with their pizza. “Be careful.” She said as she lowered the steaming pan to the table. “It’s hot!”

“Thank you,” Scott said.

“My pleasure,” she said and smiled at both of them as she turned and walked away.

Isaac reached and took two slices from the pan grinning. “This smells amazing!” He set them down on his plate. “Damn,” he said as he quickly put his fingers in his mouth. “That’s hot!”

“Well did you think she was lying?” Scott said and Isaac gave him a look.

They ate their pizza and when they were finished Scott placed a twenty on the table. “Ready to go?” he asked Isaac.

He was lying back in the booth with a distant look in his eye. He made a sound and said, “I think I ate too much…”

Scott laughed. “I gotta admit I was impressed when you finished the sixth slice. I never get passed four.”

“I can’t…. even move…. I’m so full..”

“You’ll feel better when we get home.” Scott said and he got up from the booth. Isaac slowly got up and headed for the door. As they were leaving Danny was coming in with a boy Scott didn’t recognize.

“Hey, Danny,” Scott said.

Danny looked surprised. “Oh! Hey, Scott.” He looked at the boy.

“Who’s this?” Scott asked.

Danny hesitated. “He’s.. a friend.” He gestured at Isaac. “Who’s this?”

Scott looked at Isaac. “A friend. Isaac.”

“Oh! Nice to meet you, Isaac.” Danny said. “This is Ethan. He goes to a different school.”

“Nice to meet you,” Scott said.

“Nice to meet you,” Isaac repeated.

 “Well, enjoy your meal.” Scott said.

“Thanks,” Danny said. He walked by Scott and whispered, “Well done.”

“What?!” Scott asked quickly but Danny and Ethan were already inside. _What’s_ that _supposed to mean?_ Then it hit him. _Oh my god._

“Well that was weird,” Isaac said. “What did he say to you?”

“Uh, I don’t know. I couldn’t hear him.” Scott started for the parking lot. “Let’s just go home.”

When they got to Scott’s bike Isaac let out a moan. “I forgot we came here on that. I don’t know if my stomach can handle it.”

 “You’ll be ok,” he said grinning and hopped on. He patted the seat behind him. “Hop on old buddy old pal.”

Isaac smiled. “Alright,” he said and got on behind him. He put his hands on Scott’s waist and leaned forward. “But if I throw up all over you just know you were warned.”

Scott laughed. “Consider me warned.” He started the bike and they took off down the road.

It was a beautiful night. The stars were out dotting the sky. There was a small breeze to cool down the heat. They turned down the street where they lived and that’s when Scott got an idea. They came to the house and passed it.

“Where are we going?” Isaac yelled.

“Just trust me,” Scott yelled back. _You’ll love it._

Isaac held him tighter. “Ok,” he yelled. “I trust you!”

They drove down streets and neighborhood, past businesses and restaurants, all through town. Scott turned on a road that led out of town and into some woods. They stayed on it until they came to a dirt road and turned. It seemed to have continued forever. After a few minutes Scott turned off the path at a large tree and into the woods.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Isaac yelled.

“Trust,” Scott yelled back.

Scott could see his destination through the trees and smiled. Finally, they came to a clearing and wide open sky. Scott stopped the bike and turned it off. He heard Isaac gasp.

“Wow,” he said as he slowly got off. “It’s beautiful.”

In front of them was a large lake, stars reflecting on the water and a giant crescent moon in the center.

“I found this place last year,” Scott said coming up beside him.  He looked at Isaac. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open in a smile. He started forward toward the border of the water. The moon was so bright out here that it lit up everything around them in a pale glow. “I come here sometimes when I need to get away or think about things.”

 Isaac turned around and looked at him. Even he was glowing under the moon. “Why did you bring me here?”

Scott hesitated and looked down. “I don’t know. I guess I wanted you to have this place too.”

Isaac turned back to the lake. Scott walked up and stood beside him. The air was clear and clean out here. It was peaceful, like there was nothing else in the world. He looked at Scott and smiled.

Scott smiled back and they sat down on the soft grass. They watched the water hit against the rocks in front of them and listened to the wind blowing through the trees.

 “I wanted to thank you,” Isaac said softly still watching the water.

Scott looked at him. “For what?”

He looked at Scott. “Everything,”

Scott put an arm around Isaac. He laid his head down on Scott’s shoulder. “Anytime, buddy.”

Isaac lifted his head and looked Scott in the eye. They were incredibly close. He slowly leaned in and gently brought his lips to Scott’s.

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

Isaac pulled away and quickly looked away. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did that.”

Scott put his hand on Isaac’s cheek and turned his head back at him. Without saying a word he kissed him again. His lips were soft and gentle. When Scott pulled away his eyes were still closed.

When he opened his eyes he just stared. “This changes things, doesn’t it,” he said with a small laugh.

Scott smiled. “It definitely changes things.” They both looked out over the water. The moon was still high in the sky and the stars bright. Scott lied down on the grass and Isaac followed. “ _SHIT!”_

“What?” Isaac asked, startled.

“I forgot to pick something up for my mom,”

Isaac started to laugh. “We can get something when we head back.”

“When do you want to head back?” Scott asked with a smile.

“I don’t know. I’m pretty comfortable here.”

 They laughed and looked back to the sky in silence side by side. After a few minutes Scott spoke up. “I love stars,”

“Oh?” Isaac asked taking Scott’s hand in his.

 “When I was little my mom would set up our telescope out back and we’d spend all night watching the stars.” Scott smiled at the memory. “You couldn’t see them like you can here because of the lights in town but they were still there.”

Isaac turned his head and watched him.

“I didn’t care in the beginning. They were just stars to me, dots in the sky. Then my mom told me that every single one of them was a world of its own.” Scott paused for a moment. “She showed me all of the constellations like the big dipper, Orion’s Belt, Orion the hunter.” Scott pointed at the sky. “See? Right there’s the big dipper, those seven stars.”

“Wow,” Isaac whispered.

“We haven’t done that in a while,” Scott said in a small voice. “She doesn’t have time anymore.”

“She works hard,” Isaac said.

Scott sighed. “Yeah….. I know,” he said. “I just miss it sometimes.” He stayed silent for a while looking up. “Her favorite was the Corona Borealis, The Northern Crown. She liked the mythology behind it. Mine was Hercules.”

“Why Hercules?” Isaac asked.

“I thought it looked cool,” Scott replied and they laughed. “There are a lot of stories in the stars, stories of love and loss, big battles and heroic deeds. Our history is up there.” Scott paused. “We don’t look up very much anymore.”

“She means a lot to you, your mom,” Isaac said softly.

“More than anything,” Scott said.

“I don’t really remember mine. Sometimes I get flashes of blonde hair but I can never see her face. My dad,” Isaac’s voice broke. “He threw away all the pictures of our family after she and my brother died. All but one that I hid in my room. It was from a vacation we took to the beach. He found it when he searched through my room. He thought I had taken one of his watches. He tore it up and threw it in my face saying ‘She’s dead. Get over it.’” Scott could hear him start to cry. “I _hate_ that I can’t remember her.”

Scott sat up and hugged him tight. He whispered, “Nothing can ever replace the family you had. Or ever make you want to. But we’re going to try our best to make you feel every _bit_ a part of ours as we can.”

His only response was he pulled Scott closer.

They stayed out there for a long while under the moon until the air started to grow cold. Scott felt a chill go down his spine. “It’s starting to get cold.”

“A little,” Isaac said.

“Think it’s time to go?”

Isaac sat up on his elbow and looked down at Scott. “Only if we get to come back,” he said with softness in his voice.

Scott smiled and got up. “Of course.” He held down a hand and picked Isaac up. He put a hand around his waist and they walked to the bike.

They stopped by a McDonald’s and picked up a sandwich for Melissa. When they got home she was sitting on the couch watching TV. Scott handed her the bag of food.

“Oh, thank god. I’m _starving_!”

“Well, enjoy.” Scott said. “We’re going to go to bed.”

“Ok, night boys.”

They gave her a collective “goodnight” and they climbed the stairs. When Scott got to his door Isaac stopped him. “Come with me,” he said quietly. “Please?” Isaac took his hand and led him to his room. He pulled him inside and they took off their clothes, down to their boxers.

They crawled into his bed and Scott put his arm around Isaac. “Goodnight, Isaac,” he whispered in Isaac’s ear.

“Goodnight, Scott.”

The next morning Scott woke up to find Isaac was gone. He put on the jeans he was wearing the night before and left the room. He walked downstairs and found him in the kitchen. He was sitting at the counter drinking a cup of coffee. He’d put on a white shirt and sweatpants. “Morning,” he said with a smile when he saw him.

“Morning,” Scott said returning the smile.

“Did you sleep good?” he asked.

Scott walked over to the fridge. “Very good.” He pulled out some orange juice and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. “What time is it?” Scott asked.

“9:30,”

“So we’re _very_ late for school? That doesn’t look good on your second day.” Scott said with a smile.

“Don’t worry. I called us in sick so you could sleep in longer.”

“Really?” Scott said. “What does my mom think about this?”

“She doesn’t know. She left before I woke up.” He brought the cup of coffee to his mouth.

Scott walked over to the counter. “So what’s the plan? We have all day.”

Isaac smiled. “I thought we could go to the library. I want to learn about constellations. I went into the garage and I found your old telescope. I was thinking tonight we could all sit outside and…. look up.”

Scott smiled. “That’d be great.”

Scott couldn’t believe the last twelve hours. He didn’t know until last night how much he felt for Isaac. The feeling was there but Scott didn’t know what it was. It happened so fast that he was blind to it. For some reason, Isaac made him feel what no one else had made him feel before. He felt protective and empathy and…… love. In such a small amount of time this boy, who was thrown into his life unexpectedly, had connected to him in ways he couldn’t describe. Isaac opened Scott’s eyes. It seemed fate had pushed them together, to take care of each other, to give each other _a new start_.

 


	16. Chapter 16

“Hurry up!” Isaac yelled from the back yard. “The sun’s almost set!”

Scott was standing in the kitchen preparing popcorn. “I’m almost done!” he yelled. The microwave binged and he retrieved the bag from the microwave. He tore it open and spilled the contents into a large bowl. He picked it up and walked over to the sliding glass door, pulled it open, and went outside. He set it down on a table in between two reclining lawn chairs, one of which was occupied. “Want anything to drink?” he asked Isaac.

“I think water would be great,” he said with a smile. “Thanks.”

Scott bowed. “As you wish,” he said with a faux English accent and started toward the door.

Isaac leaned up and looked back at Scott. “You know, that was pretty cute. You should do that more!”

Scott stopped and turned around. “What? Talk in an accent?”

“No,” he said with a devilish smile. “Getting me things!”

Scott looked at him and narrowed his eyes. “Thin ice, boy. Thin ice,” and turned around to head back inside, a smile spreading across his lips. It was hard to even _pretend_ to be mad at him.

“Thank you,” he heard Isaac say sweetly before he closed the door behind him.

He walked over to the fridge, pulled out two water bottles, and was heading back to the sliding glass door when he heard the front door open. “Mom?” he called. He heard a loud groan in response and laughed. “That’s her,” he thought out loud. He walked into the living room to see his mother dragging herself to the couch and collapse.

She looked at Scott. “Please, for the love of god, put me out of my misery.”

Scott smiled. “Tough day?”

“You don’t even know.” She grabbed a pillow and put it over her face. “How was your day? How was school?”

“Uh,” Scott started. “I didn’t go. We called in sick.”

She took the pillow off her face and sat up. “We? Are you sick?”

“Isaac and I. And no.”

She looked confused. “Is Isaac sick?”

“No.”

“So Isaac skipped his second day of school?” She asked incredulously.

Scott saw this coming. “Yes, but-,”

“What’s taking so long?” Isaac asked as he entered the room. His eyes landed on Melissa and he smiled. “Oh, hey!”

“You skipped school?” she asked loudly.

Isaac’s smile disappeared. “Uh-,”

“I called us in sick before he woke up,” Scott interrupted. Isaac looked at him.

“Why?” His mom asked.

“Because….  I wanted to plan this night for you,” Scott said.

She narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

Scott gestured to the sliding glass door. “After you!”

She got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen. Scott turned to follow but Isaac stopped him short. He waited for Melissa to be out of ear shot before he spoke in a whisper. “Why did you do that? Lie for me?”

“Because,” Scott said touching his cheek and smiling. “You’re the innocent little boy down the hall. Wouldn’t want to ruin _that_ perception, would we?”

“Is that your comeback for the butler joke?” he asked dryly.

Scott tilted his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said and started for the kitchen. He stopped short and turned around. “Here’s your water,” he said and tossed him a bottle. With a wink and a smile he said, “Master,” in his English accent and turned and went outside.  He could see his mom standing on the lawn.

“What’s the telescope doing out?” She asked pointing to it.

“We’re going to introduce Isaac to an old tradition,” Scott said taking a seat in one of the lawn chairs. “We spent the day at the library looking at books about constellations.”

“There weren’t many, believe it or not,” Isaac said as he came outside.

Scott looked at his mom. “I told him about how we used to lay outside and look at the stars and name the constellations we saw.”

Melissa raised her eyebrows, looked up, and smiled. “We haven’t done that in years!” She walked over to one of the cushioned benches and sat down. The stars had started to emerge, dotting here and there in the sky. “It’s beautiful,” she said quietly in wonder.

The sun quickly went down under the skyline. The once orange-blue glow that had spread across the sky was now dark, replaced by a bright moon and an infinite of stars. Like it was last night, at the lake.

The memory brought a smile to Scott’s face.

Melissa would point out the various constellations and Isaac would try hard to find them in the telescope. He would follow each find with an _oooh_ or an _ahhh._ Scott sat in his chair watching them. Isaac asked her questions about what each arrangement of stars meant and she would tell him as she had Scott so many years before. Every now and then Isaac would look over at Scott and smile. He seemed to be glowing, the moon was so bright.

They sat out there for hours under the sky.

Finally, Melissa got up from her chair, yawning and stretching. “I think it’s time for me to go to bed.”

“Alright,” Scott said getting up. He walked over to his mom and wrapped his arms around her. “Good night.”

“Night, honey.”

“Good night,” Isaac said, looking through the telescope.

“Good night, Isaac.” She turned to head inside. “Don’t stay up too late,” she said as she slide the glass door open. “You have school tomorrow.”

“We won’t,” Scott called. She closed the door and disappeared inside.

Scott waited until he was sure she was gone. He walked over to where Isaac was leaning down, still looking at the stars. He came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Isaac’s body. “This was a great idea,” he said quietly against his back. Scott could feel the warmth of him of his face.

Isaac stood straight and turned around, smiling. “I know, right?”

Scott leaned up and gently kissed his lips, smooth and soft. He looked into his eyes. His eyes were a blue completely unique to him. They had flecks of light gray that made it look like they were ceaselessly gleaming. Not the eyes Scott expected to see on a boy who lived the life Isaac had.

“Come here,” Scott said and led him by the hand to a large cushioned bench. He sat him down and crawled in beside him. He didn’t know why he felt so comfortable with him. It was only last week when he met him.

_But that was all it took._

From the moment he stepped out of the car Scott knew he wasn’t an ordinary boy, or person for that matter. That was clear now as he lay in his arms, the open sky above them with a breeze in the air.

They lay there in silence feeling each other’s warmth on their skin and the rhythmic rise and fall of Isaac’s chest.

Scott thought of all the things he wanted to say. He remembered Isaac’s lie and he decided he didn’t care.

_That’s in the past._

Isaac had spent enough time belonging to his past. He felt he was defined by it. Scott didn’t want to give him the past. He wanted to give him a future. One he could look forward to. One he could think about and smile, not feel lost and alone and hopeless.

Soon Scott’s eyes were heavy and he yawned.

“Are you tired,” Isaac asked quietly.

“A little,” Scott replied.

He started to get up. “We can go inside-,”

“No,” Scott said quickly. It felt good, being there, in his arms. He was tired but he didn’t want to get up. He wasn’t sure if he _ever_ wanted to get up. “I like it here.”

Isaac smiled. “Ok,” he said and gently returned to where he was laying. He wrapped an arm around Scott and held him close.

 Scott closed his eyes and, to the steady beat of Isaac’s heart, let himself be taken over by sleep.

 


	17. Chapter 17

Scott woke up to a sudden coldness on his back. Isaac was no longer beside him. He sat up and quickly looked around the yard. When he didn’t see him his heart started to beat faster.

He got up and hurried inside. He found him in the kitchen sitting at the table, a cup in his hand. He was staring at it. “Isaac?”

He jumped a little at the sound but his eyes never left the cup.

Scott crossed the room and slowly sat down next to him. Isaac’s eyes were red and he seemed to be trembling. When Scott looked closer he could see sweat on his forehead. “Isaac, what’s wrong? Are you ok?” He went to put a hand on his arm but he recoiled. He wouldn’t even look at Scott.

“I’m fine.” His voice was quiet and shaky.                                                 

“You’re not,” Scott said softly. Isaac just kept staring. _What’s wrong with him?_ “Did you have another nightmare?”

Isaac’s face was full of shame. A tear fell down his cheek.

“Why didn’t you wake me up? I could have helped-,”

Isaac’s turned quickly and looked him in the eye. “Because it’s not your problem.” He was shaking more now. He looked back at the cup. “It’s not your problem,” he said again, quieter.

Scott reached over and put a hand on Isaac’s arm. This time he didn’t pull away. “It is, Isaac. It _is_ my problem-,”

“Why?” Isaac looked at him again.

“’Why?’” Scott repeated. “’Why’ what?”

Isaac hesitated and then looked back at his cup. After a few moments he said, “I’ve been sitting here wondering why in the _hell_ you like me.”

“Isaac-,”

Isaac put up a hand. “Stop,”

Scott closed his mouth. _Where is this coming from?_

“I don’t-,” He closed his eyes as if to compose himself. “Every day since I got here you guys have been nothing but… nice and… and I can’t stop this feeling that I don’t…” Another tear fell. “That I don’t deserve it.”

Scott moved his hand and placed it on Isaac’s. “Why would you think that?” This isn’t the boy Scott was with a few hours ago. That boy was happy. Now he was like he was the night he ran away. Scott tried not to think of that.

Isaac tried to speak but his voice caught in his throat. Another tear fell down the side of his face. He cleared his throat. “I’m not who you think I am.”

“What do you mean? What are you talking about?” Isaac was starting to scare him.

Outside, Scott could hear thunder and lightning began to crack in the sky. Sprinkles of rain began to hit the windows.

Isaac looked up at Scott. The look of shame grew worse. It was full of pain. “My dad-,” His voice broke again and he looked back down. He couldn’t look at him. “My dad didn’t get arrested.”

Scott felt a little relief. “I know,”

“What?” Isaac looked up, confused. “How could you know?”

“Stiles. He showed me the police report.”

“He…. what?” He looked like Scott had just punched him. He looked… hurt. “Why would he do that?”

Scott didn’t know what to tell him. He couldn’t tell him that Stiles thought he was dangerous. That he’d somehow hurt him or his mom. “I don’t know.” It was all he could think to say.

“You don’t know? He’s your best friend and you don’t know?”

Scott looked away. Isaac was waiting for a reply but Scott had nothing.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked in a whisper. “That you knew… what  I did.”

Scott looked back up. “Because I didn’t care.” He said it with conviction because it was true. He didn’t. “What he did to you…” Scott swallowed hard. His eyes were starting to sting with his own tears. “He deserved it.”

Isaac was silent for a moment. “He was my dad, Scott.” His lip quivered a little as he breathed. “He didn’t deserve to die.”

“How can you think that?” Scott remembered what Isaac told him.

_He went numb everywhere and started drinking every day. He couldn't be sad anymore so he became angry and took it out on me. Every little thing set him off. I dropped a plate on the floor by accident once and he hurled the shards at me calling me 'stupid' and 'useless'._

_When things got really bad, he'd punish me by knocking me around or locking me in a broken freezer for days. He'd occasionally throw in food but he'd wait until I was near starved so I'd see that I still needed him._

“He was my dad,” he said with more pain than Scott had ever heard. “He was all I had left of my family. And because of me,” he paused to breathe. “Because of me I _lost_ it.”

Scott turned Isaac’s face toward him and looked him in the eye. “What happened was _not_ your fault. Do you understand me?”

Isaac’s face went blank. The only sign of emotion was his tear stained cheeks. “You think you’re the first person to tell me that? You’re not even the twentieth.” He took Scott’s hand off his face and put it on the table. “I know you’re just trying to help and I appreciate it.” He took Scott’s hands in his and stared at them. “But I don’t deserve someone like you. And you deserve someone better.”

Scott’s heart sank. “W-what are you talking about?”

He hesitated. “I’m a mess, Scott.” _I acted like I was ok, that everything was fine, and they believed me._ The tears returned to his face. “You have friends and a future. I can’t-,” his voice was barely more than a whisper. “I can’t love you like someone should. I don’t know how. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Isaac.”

“You sure? Stiles-,”

“Stiles doesn’t know you like I do.”

Isaac was silent. He just stared at his cup.

“You have _nothing_ to be ashamed of.” Isaac looked up at Scott. “You are _exactly_ who I want. There is not a damn thing on this Earth that would make me think differently. You have _nothing_ wrong with you. What happened was not your fault. I don’t care if I was the thousandth person to tell you that, you know why? Because I _meant_ it.” Scott paused a moment. “I love you, Isaac. I’m not leaving you alone. If you need help, we’ll get you some. You’re not alone anymore.” Scott reached over and held him close. “And I won’t let you give up that easy.”

Isaac gripped him harder. “I just don’t know what I can do anymore.”

“I know,” Scott whispered. “That’s what _I’m_ here for, remember? To remind you that you’re strong.”

_“What I do know is that you're strong enough to overcome whatever bullshit life threw at you when you were too young to handle it.”_

_“I don't know if I am”_

_“You don't have to know. I'm here to remind you. Maybe it was fate, then, that you came to us.”_

“As long as you’re with me, you will never forget that.” Scott pulled back and kissed him. He looked out the window and saw the storm had gone and the sun was starting to come up. “Let’s get to bed,” he said with a smile. “We have school today.”

Isaac nodded and together they went upstairs. Isaac stopped at Scott’s door. “I really don’t deserve you,” he said quietly.

“Yes you do,” Scott replied without hesitation.

Isaac smiled a small smile and continued to his room.

“Goodnight,” Scott called down the hall.

Isaac turned the door knob and looked at Scott. “Goodnight.”

He went inside and Scott watched the door close. He entered his room and collapsed on the bed. He was exhausted. This thing with Isaac wasn’t done, he knew. It was a long road ahead for him and Scott will be there for him.

As long as it takes. He will be there.

_Maybe it was fate, then._

_That you came to us._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

Today was the day- his first appointment with Dr. Wilhour. On the ride over Scott saw him nervously fidgeting with his fingers. He had taken Isaac’s hand in his but it did little to calm him. “Are you ok?” Scott asked him gently.

“Yeah,” he replied quietly, his eyes staring out the window. “I need to do this.”

 Melissa had been surprised when Isaac approached her with the suggestion to see a therapist. He had come to the decision after that night with the telescope. “Are you sure?” she asked him.

“I’m sure,” he said timidly. “I think it’s time I talked to someone about… what happened.”

Melissa brought him in close and hugged him. “Of course,” she told him. “Whatever I can do to help.”

_And here we are,_ Scott thought as he pulled into the parking lot of the clinic. He picked a parking spot, unbuckled and got out of the car. Slowly, Isaac followed and they walked up to the entrance. Scott opened the door and held it open for Isaac but he didn’t walk through, he just stood there. Scott saw the hesitation in his eyes. “You don’t have to do this, Isaac. Not if you’re not ready.”

Isaac swallowed hard. “No,” he said. “This will be good for me.” He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.

Scott placed a hand on his shoulder. “I know it will be. I’ll be right outside,” he said. “Waiting for you.” Scott tried a reassuring smile but again, it did little. They walked together up to the receptionist’s desk. “Isaac Lahey to see Dr. Wilhour,” Scott said. “We have an appointment.”

The receptionist tapped away on her keyboard. “It will be just a few minutes,” she said and they took a seat in the waiting area. It was a small place but the chairs were comfortably cushioned at least.

It was a half an hour later before the doctor came out of the door next to the reception desk. _A few minutes my ass._ “Isaac?” he asked us.

Isaac raised a silent hand and got up to meet him at the door. He turned around and looked at Scott. “I’ll be right here,” he reminded him and he disappeared behind the door. Scott picked up one of the many magazines that littered the coffee table.

After an hour Scott heard the door open and Isaac walked out alone. Scott got up, “How did it go?” he asked.

“Good,” Isaac replied tersely and left for the car.

Scott made to follow. “Scott?” he heard behind him. He turned and saw Dr. Wilhour in the doorway. “Can I speak with you a moment?”

“Sure,” Scott said and walked into the room. “Is something wrong?” he asked as Dr. Wilhour took a seat at his desk.

“No, no,” the man said. “I just wanted to know if I could talk to your mother. She’s the one who made the appointment, correct?”

“Yes. I’ll tell her to give you a call.”

“That’d be great,” he said and Scott left the room.

The entire ride home Isaac never said a word. Scott tried to talk to him but all he got was silence. That worried him. When they got home Isaac went straight upstairs. Melissa came out of the kitchen, “How’d it go?” she asked.

“I don’t know. He didn’t say anything. I tried to talk to him but..”

“He just needs time,” she said.

“Yeah,” Scott agreed. It killed him to not be able to be in there with him. _Where he needed me_. “Oh, the doctor wanted to speak with you. I told him you’d call him.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Oh? What about? Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know,” he said truthfully. “He just said he wanted to talk to you.”

“Ok,” she said. “I’ll give him a call tomorrow morning. Are you hungry? I’m making dinner.”

Scott felt his stomach growl at the mention of food. “ _Starved_.”

Melissa laughed, “Can’t say I’m surprised. Go ask Isaac if he wants to join us, should be ready in about twenty minutes.”

Scott nodded and headed up the stairs. He walked down the long hallway and stopped in front of Isaac’s door. He knocked, “Isaac?” When he didn’t hear anything he knocked again. “Isaac?” he said a little louder. When he didn’t hear anything again he opened the door. Isaac was lying on his side on the bed staring at the wall. Scott walked over and sat down behind him. “What happened, Isaac?” he asked gently.

“I wanted it to stop,” he said, barely more than a whisper.

“What? You wanted what to stop?” Scott put a hand on his shoulder as he always did when he wanted to comfort him.

“The pain,” he said. “I thought that if I talked to him, if I got _real_ help it would somehow all go away.” His eyes kept staring.

Scott lay down next to him and wrapped an arm around his still body. “It will take time, Isaac. You just have to work at it.”

“I know,” he said. “How long do you think it will take?”

Scott held him closer. “Until you get better. And I will be there to help you. I made a promise.”

Isaac took Scott’s hand in his. “I know you did.” He rolled over and looked at Scott. “I don’t know if I could’ve made it this far without you.”

Scott smiled at him. “I _am_ pretty amazing,”he said and they laughed. He loved the way he laughed.  “Come on, mom’s making dinner!”

“That sounds great,” Isaac said as he started to get up from the bed. “I’m starving.”

“Hey!” Scott said and pointed to his mouth. “This amazing boy needs a little something for being amazing, no?”

“Oh,” Isaac said smiling. “ _Of course_ he does,” and he leaned down and gave Scott a kiss. “Better?”

“Better,” he said with a grin.

“Good! Then I can do this!” Isaac pushed him off the bed and ran for the door.

Scott jumped up. “You ass!” he yelled and chased him down the hallway.

 


	19. Chapter 19

"So what do you think he wants?" Melissa asked as she eyed a very nice Rolex.

Scott pulled her away from the display case with a laugh, "I don't know but I'm pretty sure  _that_  is not in our budget."

Melissa made a face. "It's Christmas," she said as she looked one more time at the watch. "And it's his  _first_  with us. Don't you think he deserves something nice?"

"Of course I do." He wanted Isaac to have the best of everything! He just didn't want his family to go broke in the process. Scott knew his mom was spending a large portion of her paycheck every month on Isaac's therapist so to help out he got a job at the local veterinary clinic. It was a simple job, cleaning the examination tables, making sure the animals are well taken care of, taking calls- every day after school. It was the kind of work that made him feel good. Scott always loved animals.

Sometimes, he and Isaac would go to the office when he knew things were slow or there wasn't a lot of work to be done and take some of the dogs in the kennel on walks through the park nearby. Whenever Isaac was sad or he fell into a dark place Scott would take him there to see the animals. He always perked up when he laid eyes on them, every time.

Scott will never forget the first day he took Isaac a few months ago. It was a crappy day, the kind where the sun never came out and the sky was gray and dark like it was about to pour at any moment. When the last bell rang Scott waited for Isaac at their usual spot by the door to the parking lot. After about ten minutes Isaac had not arrived so Scott went looking for him. He searched up and down every hallway until he found him in one of the bathrooms.

"Isaac?" Scott asked as he entered.

He heard a loud sniff from behind one of the closed stall doors. "Scott," Isaac said quickly. Scott could hear in his voice that he'd been crying. "Damn, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you I don't need a ride home today."

Scott walked to the stall Isaac was in and stood by the door. "Isaac, why are you in here crying?" he asked suddenly concerned. "What's wrong?"

He heard the rolling of the toilet paper and the rip as Isaac tore it free. "Nothing, I'm fine," he said. "And I wasn't crying."

"Bullshit," Scott said. "I know when you're lying. Come out here and tell me what's wrong!"

For a few moments there was nothing but silence until Scott heard the lock on the door turn and Isaac came out of the stall. He held up a packet of papers, "This is what's wrong."

Scott took the packet. When he looked at them he almost laughed. "This is what you're crying about? An "F" on a test?" Isaac nodded as he rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. "Oh my God, Isaac. I thought something was really wrong!"

"Something is wrong!" Isaac said loudly. "Your mom is going to hate me!"

"Isaac," Scott began as he gave the papers back. "I used to bring one of these home like every week. She's no stranger to it."

Isaac smiled a little but it was gone as soon as it came. He looked down at the test. "I'm scared I'm going to… I just don't want to let her down. She's done so much for me, both of you have."

Scott put a hand on his shoulder. "Isaac, one "F" isn't going to ruin you for all eternity- she loves you.  _I_  love you." Isaac looked up and met his eyes. "I have an idea," Scott said as he took his hand. "Come with me!"

They spent three hours there playing with all the abandoned or lost dogs and cats. He grew close to one of the chocolate labs who he named "Scooby." Every time Isaac walked through the door Scooby went wild in his cage. Scooby was just barely older than a puppy when Dr. Deaton found him wandering the streets without a collar or any identification a few months ago. He hung "Lost Dog" fliers up and down the street but no one ever showed up to claim the poor pup. When Deaton found out about what Scott was doing he gave him keys to the clinic so he could come anytime- something that required quite a bit of trust on Deaton's part but he knew the positive effect the animals had on Isaac.

"What about a dog?" Scott asked his mom as they walked through the crowded store.

Melissa stopped and looked at her son, surprise on her face. "A dog? Like.. like an animal?"

"Is there any other kind?"

"What made you think of a dog?"

"Well there's a dog at the clinic that Isaac's grown pretty close too, he loves him. I think Isaac would benefit a lot from having him at home so he can see him more. "

Melissa considered it for a moment before she opened her mouth. "Dogs are a lot of responsibility, honey."

"I know," Scott said. "We can handle it."

Melissa let out a whine, "But they  _shed_ , Scott!"

"Mom! This is for Isaac!" Scott said using her empathy against her. "Besides, just get one of those tape roller things that get hair off clothes!"

She looked at him and Scott could see she's given up. "Fine, but I'm not cleaning up after him _. He's your guys' responsibility_."

Scott was filled with excitement.  _Isaac is going to freak!_  He couldn't wait to see his face when they brought the dog home. "Yes! Awesome!" He kissed his mom on the cheek, "I'm gonna go to the clinic and get Scooby ready!"

"Scooby?" Melissa said as her son ran for the exit.

The clinic was already closed for the day when Scott got there. It got dark surprisingly fast on his way over- one of the symptoms of the winter season. He unlocked the door and went inside. The place was cold and the sounds of dogs and meowing cats could be heard through the silence. Scott flipped the light switch and the clinic was filled with crappy fluorescent light. He crossed to the kennel door and went in. "Hey, everybody!" he said as all the animals came to life as he walked passed cage after cage until he came to Scooby.

Scott knelt down in front of the cage, "Hey, buddy!" Scooby was wagging his tail wildly and it looked like he had a massive grin on his face. Scott laughed, "I know! I'm excited too!" He went to unlock the cage when there was a sudden loud noise that came from the front of the clinic.

"Hello?!" Someone yelled, frantically. "I- I need help. Something's wrong with my dog!"

Scott got up quickly and ran to the door. As he went through the threshold he saw who was yelling. It was a young boy, about Scott's age, with dark close-cropped hair and beautiful blue eyes- he looked familiar, Scott thought. He was holding a brown-spotted Russell Terrier and clearly terrified. When the boy saw him he ran over quickly. "Please, I don't know what's wrong," he began. "He was fine and then all of a sudden he threw up and just collapsed! I couldn't get him to move!"

"Here," Scott said and took the dog. He ran to one of the rooms off to the side that contained an examination table and gently laid the dog down. "Did you see him eat anything strange?" Scott asked as he grabbed a stethoscope and placed it on the dog's chest.

"Um, I don't know." The boy said, his breathing was getting more ragged.

Scott removed the stethoscope, "He's got an elevated heart rate. You said he threw up?"

"Ya, ya! Oh, my god. Is he going to die? Holy shit." The boy began to pace quickly but never took his eyes off the dog.

Scott opened the dogs mouth and knew immediately what had happened. He'd seen this kind of thing a couple times before. He ran to the drug cabinet and pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and quickly returned to the table. He gave the dog a few spoon fills and the dog immediately began throwing up a brown, foamy liquid. Scott looked up at the boy. "Chocolate," he said with a smile. "Your dog is going to be fine."

The boy's brow furrowed. "Damn it, Cooper! Did you get into the pantry again?" He looked over at Scott and smiled. "Thank you, Scott."

_Jackson! His name is Jackson!_  Scott knew he'd seen him before- he goes to Beacon Hills High. Scott didn't know a whole lot about him other than he was rich.

Scott nodded with a smile of his own, "Glad I could help." Jackson went to pick up his dog. "Oh, don't do that," Scott said taking Jackson's wrist. "He needs to lay down for a bit. Poor guy's been through hell tonight," he smiled.

Jackson looked at Scott and moved his gaze down to the animal on the table. After a few moments he said, "I don't know what I would've done if he'd died tonight."

"I'm glad you won't have to find out," Scott replied and put his hand on his shoulder. After a bit he realized he held his hand there a little too long. He cleared his throat and went to put the hydrogen peroxide back in the cabinet.

"I didn't even know you guys were open this late."

Scott closed the cabinet and leaned on the counter that lined the back wall. "Usually we aren't. I came by to take care of something real quick."

"Then I'm lucky you were here," he looked down at his friend. " _We're_  lucky."

"I guess so," was all Scott could think to say.

After some silence Jackson said, "I didn't know you worked here. Do you like it?" He was petting his dog gently behind the ears. The animal was looking considerably better already.

"Yeah, I love animals and I decided I liked having money so.." Scott said and they both laughed.

"So, what do I owe you?" he asked as he pulled out his wallet.

Scott threw a hand up, "Oh, don't worry about it."

Jackson stopped and looked up at Scott, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's cool. First one's free!"

They laughed again and Jackson put away his wallet. He looked back at Scott and after a few moments said, "Well look, I have to repay you somehow. Can I buy you dinner or something?"

Scott snorted, "You want to buy me dinner?"

"Yeah," Jackson said, the grin returning to his face. Scott had to admit, he had an amazing smile. "It's the least I could do! I mean, you saved my dog's life."

Scott thought for a moment.

"Come on," Jackson urged. "It's Christmas. Are you really gonna say no?"

Scott let out a sigh, "How could I turn down free food?"

"Great!" Jackson said. "It's a date!"

 


	20. Chapter 20

Jackson had taken him to the nicest Italian restaurant in town, Angelo’s. Scott had only been there twice before- his sixteenth birthday and a mother’s day a few years ago. The price of a meal was a little too much for weekly visits.

The food was amazing- and considering the price, better have been. Jackson ordered chicken parmesan and Scott, deciding to stick with what he knew, ordered spaghetti- extra sauce, of course. The place was crowded for a Thursday night, Scott thought.

He never felt he belonged in places like this. He was used to the small dinners and modest lifestyle he grew up with. Not that he ever complained. His mom worked hard for what she had and Scott admired her immensely for that. 

They talked and ate for a while and before long almost an hour had passed. “I can’t believe we’ve never talked at school,” Jackson said as he put down his tea.

Scott knew why. They ran in entirely different circles. Jackson was the popular boy. He was captain of the lacrosse team and had every girl in the school drooling after him- and a few boys too. While Scott did find him attractive, he was never one of them. Aside from the fact he was way out of his league, Jackson seemed more like the guy you would rather dream about than date. He had a reputation as someone who, well, got around. 

“I guess it just never happened,” Scott said as he put the last of the spaghetti in his mouth. He thought of Isaac then. The shy, innocent boy who was waiting for him at home. “You know, I think I should probably be getting home. I’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

“Yeah, of course. Sure thing! Let me just get the check,” Jackson said and waved down a waitress.

As they pulled up to Scott’s house he could see the porch light shining and the living room lamp was on. “So what did you think?” Jackson asked as he put the car in park.

“Think?” 

“Of the food.”

“Oh, it was great!” More than great, Scott thought. He could eat there every night if he could.

“I’m glad you liked it,” Jackson said, smiling. 

“Thank you, again,” Scott said after a moment of silence. “You really didn’t have to take me to dinner.”

That made him laugh. “I think that’s the fifth time you’ve thanked me tonight. I mean, shouldn’t that be me? It was either luck or fate that you were even at the clinic.” 

Maybe it was fate, then, that you came to us.

“Yeah, fate has a funny way of bringing people together,” Scott replied.

Jackson gave him a look, eyebrows raised. “So you believe in it? Fate?” 

Scott shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess… I guess I think there are some things that are meant to happen to you. The people you meet, the important things in your life. The big stuff. The little pieces we choose just fill the spaces in between.”

Jackson moved closer wearing that grin. “That’s awfully profound.” He started to lean in but Scott stopped him mere inches from his face. 

“Wait! I’m… seeing someone.” Scott said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

Jackson retreated quickly. “Oh! Don’t be sorry… I should’ve asked.” Suddenly the air around them was tense and Jackson turned to look out the front windshield. 

The silence hung in the air a moment before Scott said, “Thank you… for dinner.” He opened the car door and started to get out. 

“No problem,” Jackson replied resigned. “Hey Scott?” he said suddenly. 

“Yeah?” Scott said, holding the car door open. 

“She… or he, is really lucky,” he said with a smile.

Scott smiled back. “Thank you.” 

“Maybe I’ll see you at school?”

“Maybe,” Scott said and he closed the door. When he walked into the house his mom was sitting on the couch reading a book. She looked up and smiled when she saw him come in.

“I thought you’d never get home! Where’s,” she pointed to the stairs and mouthed, “the dog?” 

“Long story,” Scott said with a sigh and started up the stairs. 

“Well… ok! Goodnight!” Melissa said and turned her attention back to her book. 

Scott walked down the hallway passed his door to the end- to his. He knocked softly on the wood. He heard quiet movement on the other side and his heart started to beat faster. 

When the door opened the boy on the other side smiled. That beautiful smile. “Scott,” he said in that perfect way.

Scott threw his arms around him and pulled him close. “I missed you,” he whispered. 

Isaac laughed. “I saw you this morning!” 

“I know,” Scott said smiling. “It’s been too long.” He let Isaac go and then gave him a kiss. 

Isaac furrowed his brow. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah,” Scott said. “I just wanted you to know… that I love you.”

Isaac smiled. “I love you too.” 

The next morning he woke up in Isaac’s arms. The sun was shining through the window and Scott could feel Isaac’s breath on his neck. He always liked that feeling, knowing he was there. It had been a while since they slept in the same bed. With Isaac’s therapy Scott wanted Isaac to have some time to himself. To be independent. 

But last night Scott couldn’t help himself. His night with Jackson made it completely clear- Isaac was the only one he wanted. 

He looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand next to the bed. 10:30. It was later than he expected to sleep in but it was Christmas break so there was really no reason why he couldn’t. 

Scott gently eased his way from the bed and left the room. He walked downstairs and into the kitchen to get a cup of orange juice. It was usually quite on the mornings his mom worked, peaceful even. He sat at the kitchen table and drank. 

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” he heard from the doorway. He turned to see Isaac standing there. 

“I wanted to let you sleep,” Scott said with a smile. 

Isaac crossed the room and took a seat next to him. “You didn’t have to do that,” he said as he took Scott’s glass and finished it. “But thanks!” 

Scott gasped and feigned shock, “How could you?” 

Isaac narrowed his eyes, “Muahaha, I’m evil that’s how!” he said in a low sinister voice. 

Scott laughed, “Oh! Well maybe I shouldn’t give you your Christmas present if you’re so evil!”

All amusement seemed to have left Isaac’s face. A moment passed before he spoke, “You got me a gift? … Why?”

Scott was confused. “It’s Christmas. Didn’t you…” and then it hit him. Isaac was six the last time he celebrated Christmas. Scott couldn’t believe he could be so dense. “Well, it’s what we do. And I have the perfect gift for you!” 

Scott hated it when Isaac remembered his life before. It was like he became a different person. The joy and happiness he’d worked so hard to achieve over the last several months vanished. Scott wanted nothing more than to bring him back. 

“Come on,” he said holding out his hand and smiling. “Get a shower and meet me at the front door in half an hour. You’re going to love it!”

“Ok, stand here,” Scott said. They were standing outside the clinic and Isaac was wearing a blindfold over his eyes. Scott wanted him to be completely surprised. “I’ll be right back!” Scott yelled over his shoulder as he went inside.

Scooby was laying down on his bed of blankets when Scott entered the back room. He jumped up immediately at the sight of his friend and his tail wagged side to side with incredible speed. He always acted this way when Scott and Isaac came to see him. “Hey, boy! How ya doin’?” 

Scott unlocked the cage and Scooby ran out and jumped on him. “Woah! Hold it, buddy! I’ve got a surprise for you!” He knelt down and held the lab’s face in his hands. “How would you like to go home with me today?”

Scooby barked as if he understood and began licking Scott’s face. “I knew you’d like that. Come on!” He led the dog by the collar out to the front of the clinic. “Now stay,” he said and the dog sat where he was. “Good! I’ll be right back.” Scott turned and walked out the front door. 

“Thank God,” Isaac said when he heard the door open. “For a second I thought you were gonna leave me out here!”

Scott laughed. “Never.” He took Isaac’s hand and began leading him toward the clinic door. “I wanted to get you something that will always make you happy when you’re sad.”

“I have you for that,” Isaac said as he stumbled forward trying to find his way. 

Scott smiled. “Well, if for whatever reason I can’t be there I want to be sure.” He opened the door and together they went inside. “Ok, stand right here.” Scott walked over to Scooby who was still sitting where he’d left him. He unchained him and brought him over to Isaac. “Ok,” he said. “Take it off.” Isaac smiled and removed the blindfold. He looked down and saw the chocolate lab staring back at him, tongue out and tail wagging. “He’s yours, Isaac.”

Isaac was speechless. He knelt down and took the dog in his hands and starting petting him. “Scooby? Are you serious?” he asked in a small voice. 

Scott laughed a small laugh. Scooby was licking Isaac up and down. “I think he loves you as much as I do.” 

Isaac stood up and looked at Scott. In a blink Isaac had wrapped himself around Scott and pulled him in. “I’ve never had a dog before,” he said in a small voice. “I love you.”

Scott smiled. “Merry Christmas, Isaac.”


	21. Chapter 21

“Hey, boys!” Melissa called from the bottom of the stairs. “Can you come down here, please?”

 

Scott and Isaac were in the middle of playing checkers. “One sec!” Scott yelled back. He smiled and looked at Isaac. “Are you sure you’re not cheating?”

 

The other boy laughed. “How can you cheat at checkers?”

 

Scott shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re distracting me.”

 

Isaac gasped. “Oh, am I _that_ pretty?”

 

Scott leaned in and kissed him, “Very. Come on, let’s see what she wants.” They headed downstairs and found Melissa sitting in one of the chairs in the living room.

 

“Come,” she said. “Sit down. I wanna talk to you about something.”

 

The two boys took a seat on the couch facing her. “Is something wrong?” Scott asked.

 

“No, no of course not. I just want to talk about something.” She looked as if she were nervous or tense. _Probably both_.

 

“Ok. What is it?”

 

She turned to Isaac. “Isaac, you’ve been living with us for a few months now and we’ve loved having you here.”

 

Suddenly, it felt like Scott’s heart dropped out of his chest. Fear gripped him. _Is she about to tell us he’s leaving?_ _Did they find him a home? No. It can’t be. Not now._

 

“Do you like living here?” She asked him.

 

He looked at Scott and then back at her. “Absolutely, yeah.”

 

Melissa smiled and let out air she’d apparently been holding in. “Great! How would you like to make it… permanent?”

 

Silence hung in the air as Isaac was speechless. Scott looked at him and awaited his answer.

 

“I mean, I know you’re sixteen-,” Melissa started to say before Isaac spoke.

 

“Yes, yes, definitely!” A smile spread across his face.

 

Scott took his hand, “You had me worried for a second!”

 

Melissa let out a squee, “Great! I’ll call the social worker! I’m so excited!” She jumped up gave Isaac a hug and ran to the kitchen.

 

Isaac turned and looked at Scott. “Guess you’re stuck with me.”

 

“Damn,” Scott said playfully. “How will I ever get away from you now?”

 

“You won’t,” Isaac replied smiling.

 

“Good.”

 

Melissa came rushing back in still high on excitement and adrenaline. “Ok, so we are definitely going out to celebrate tonight!” She looked to Isaac. “Where do you want to go?”

 

“Um, I’m not sure. Whatever’s good, I guess.” He turned to Scott. “What do you think?”

 

Scott threw up his arms, “Don’t look at me, buddy. This celebration is for you!”

 

“You know what?” Melissa said. “We’re going to Angelo’s. Yup. That’s what we’re gonna do!” She turned and ran toward the kitchen, “I’m gonna make the reservation!”

 

Isaac’s grin grew wider as he looked at Scott, “Really?! I’ve never been there!”

 

Scott smiled back, “You’re going to love it, promise.”

 

 

 

“I can’t believe I’m going to be you’re brother,” Isaac said with a grin as he and Scott lied down on Scott’s bed. Scooby was laying on the edge fast asleep.

 

“Yeah, let’s not talk about that too much,” Scott replied as he gently kissed Isaac. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. This new development wouldn’t change anything, Scott thought. He turned his head and looked at Isaac. _At least I hope not._

 

Isaac smiled softly, “What?” he said in a small voice.

 

“Nothing. I was just thinking.” Scott reached an arm around him and pulled him close.

 

Isaac rested his head on Scott’s chest, his head slowly moving up and down as Scott breathed. “You do that too much, you know.”

 

Scott laughed a little. “Well, I was thinking about you!”

 

“Oh! Then by all means continue!” Isaac looked up at Scott. “What about me?”

 

Scott thought a moment. It’s something he’s been wanting to do for a long time. Something that _needed_ to be done if he were to stay with this boy who in a short time became so important to him.

 

“I-,” the words caught in his throat.

 

Isaac got up looking concerned, “Scott, what’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing,” Scott said quickly. “It’s just… I think I want to… you know. Come out. Tell my mom about us.”

 

“NO.” Isaac said immediately and got up from the bed. Scooby startled and looked up at Isaac before laying back down again. “You can’t do that.”

 

Scott sat up. “What? What do you mean? Why not?”

 

Isaac was pacing the floor when he stopped and looked at Scott. He was silent a few moments before he said, “I’m going to be your brother, Scott. Your _brother._ ” His voice broke on the last word. When he spoke again it was barely more than a whisper. “Brothers don’t… do what we do. Brothers can’t… be together. Don’t you see?”

 

Scott got up and went to him. He took Isaac’s hands in his. “It’s just a piece of paper, Isaac,” he said in a soft voice.

 

Tears started forming in Isaac’s eyes, as if embarrassed he looked down at the floor. “Why can’t this just be between us? Why can’t this be ours and no one else’s?” he whispered.

 

Scott started feeling the stinging in his eyes. “Because I don’t want that life for you. I don’t want you to always be hiding who you are,” Scott rested a hand on Isaac’s cheek. “The you I _love._ ” Scott rested a hand on Isaac’s cheek. “I want you to be open and free and know that you are loved.”

 

Isaac raised his head and looked into Scott’s eyes. “Please,” he asked. “I don’t want to lose this… _My family._ ”

 

Scott pulled him in and wrapped his arms around him. “Ok,” he said. “I won’t. I promise.”

 

 

As much as he wanted to shout his love for Isaac from every rooftop in the city, Scott couldn’t put Isaac’s family at risk. He knew Isaac needed a family more than he needed a boyfriend.

 

Maybe Scott needed to be his brother for a while.

 

“I’ll do whatever you need me to do,” Scott said. “Whatever you need.”

 

Isaac went to his room after that. It was late so Scott told him to get some sleep. He took his clothes off, put on some gym shorts and lied down on his bed.

 

He started thinking again.

 

Could he have a relationship with Isaac? Would Isaac ever become comfortable being out? Scott wanted to be with him, there was no question. But he wanted a life, also. One where they would move in together, shop for furniture or curtains or other mundane things that people in relationships do. Go to parties or family events and introduce Isaac as his boyfriend and show him off. He felt so strongly about him that someday maybe he’d want to make him his husband.

 

Scott had never doubted his relationship with him until now. Isaac was going to be his brother soon. It would seem fate was working against them now when for so long it seemed to have given them everything they’d ever wanted. Isaac needed a family.

 

It was like the world no longer made sense. He felt so much frustration and anger. He thought of fate

 

It was then his mind drifted to someone else. _Blue eyes, dark hair, beautiful._ Jackson. He had only recently said more than two words to the boy yet he had always been at the back of Scott’s mind ever since.

 

Scott reached over to his side table and picked up his phone. He unlocked it and sent a text to Stiles.

 

- _You up?_

 

After a few moments he got a reply.

 

- _Totally. I’ve been binge watching Netflix all day and I’m not even kidding._

Scott laughed to himself.

 

- _Nice._ Scott hesitated a few moments before he finished the text. _Hey, can we meet? I need to tell you something.._

 

It seemed like forever before Stiles texted back.

 

_Sure. Where at?_

_The park. By the swings._

 

The park was deserted. The moon was bright and high in the sky as Scott took a seat on one of the empty swings. Stiles arrived ten minutes later in his Jeep as he lived further away from the park than Scott.  He considered leaving every minute since he got there. But he needed to tell someone and Stiles had been his best friend for as long as he could remember.

 

Stiles took a seat next to him on the swing. “So, what’s up?” he asked. “Is something wrong? You got me a little worried.”

 

“No,” Scott said. “Nothing’s wrong.” A moment passed before he spoke again. “I just… I feel so _confused._ ”

 

Stiles nodded, understandingly. “Ok.” He didn’t have that sarcastic, over-the-top demeanor that came so naturally to him. Now he was dead serious. He knew when he needed to the friend that made Scott laugh and the one that made Scott feel safe telling him anything. Right now he was being the latter. “Confused about what?”

 

The words were stuck. He had thought about what he would say, how the words would come out of his mouth. But now that the moment had arrived it was like all the courage and determination he built up had left him.

 

Stiles placed a reassuring hand on Scott’s shoulder. “You can tell me,” he said softly.

 

Scott felt the sting in his eyes again. “A lot’s… happened recently. Stuff I haven’t told you.” He started to regret asking Stiles to come but he pushed that feeling down and kept going. “A few months ago I started to have… feelings for…” _Say it,_ Scott thought. _Say his name._ “Someone. Someone I never thought was possible for me.”

 

After a moment of silence Stiles said, “What’s his name?” He asked it with no judgment. No contempt. No _disgust._ He was Scott’s best friend. When Scott didn’t say anything Stiles suddenly said, “Oh, God! It’s not me is it?”

 

They laughed and Scott suddenly didn’t feel scared anymore. He loved that about Stiles. He could make you comfortable and safe at a time when all you wanted to do was run away and hide. “No, it’s not you. It’s Isaac.”

 

Stiles only nodded.

 

Scott’s smile left his face. “I think I fell in love with him, Stiles.”

 

“So what happened?” Stiles asked. “Did he not… feel the same way?”

 

Scott shook his head. “No, he did. Does. It’s just…” He rubbed his eyes, wiping away the tears. “My mom asked him if he wanted to be adopted today.”

 

“Oh,” he said. “What did he say?”

Scott looked at him. “What do you _think_ he said?”

 

Stiles looked away, “Damn! You’re in love with your brother…”

 

Scott laughed and shoved him and Stiles went swinging, “Shut up.”

 

“OW!” Stiles yelled as he rubbed his ‘wound’ and dangled in his seat. “I’m gonna have a bruise now.”

 

“Good!” Scott said.

 

They sat there for a few moments before Scott said, “He doesn’t want to tell anyone. He’s afraid that if we do then we won’t be able to be together.”

 

“Makes sense,” Stiles said, returning to his serious self. “And you want to tell?”

 

Scott only nodded.

 

“Are you?”

 

Scott shook his head. “No. I couldn’t do that to him.”

 

“So what are you going to do?”

 

Scott stared at the ground. “I don’t know,” he said. “I was so ready to tell everyone. To be able to walk down the hallway holding his hand, go on real dates. Now I don’t think I ever will.”

 

Stiles was silent, just listening.

 

“I met someone recently, though. He’s been on my mind ever since and I feel like I’m _betraying_ Isaac every time I think about him.”

 

“This sucks…” Stiles said. “I wish I knew what to tell you.”

 

Scott didn’t know what else to say.

 

“So tell me about this guy. What’s he like?”

 

Scott smiled. “Well, he’s smart, loves animals and Italian food,”

 

“Ohhh, _Italian food._ How classy! So is he, like, totally cute?”

 

Scott laughed, “ _Totally_.”

 

“Does he like you too?”

 

“I think so, he tried to kiss me.”

 

Stiles looked shocked. “God damn, boy! You’ve got all the boys chasing you!”

 

“Yeah…,” Scott said with a resigned smile.

 

“So what’s this boy’s name?”

 

“Jackson.”

 

Stile’s mouth dropped. “NO SHIT?”

 

“Yup.”

 

Stiles smiled. “That’s quite a choice you have!”

 

Scott laughed. _Tell me about it._


	22. Chapter 22

So, you gonna be ok?”

 

“Yeah,” Scott said with a sigh as he got onto his bike. “I’ll figure something out.”

 

Stiles stood next to him. He threw his arms around Scott in a tight hug. “Thanks for telling me, buddy.”

 

“Mm-hm,” was all Scott could think to say. ‘You’re welcome’ didn’t seem right.

 

“You’re not getting a boner or anything, right?”

 

Scott pushed him off, “Ass!”

 

Stiles threw up his hands and laughed, “Joke! Joke!” He started walking toward his Jeep. “Don’t be a stranger!” he said loudly without turning around.

 

“I won’t!” Scott shouted back as he watched Stiles disappear into the vehicle.

 

When the taillights faded his eyes went to a small bench that was off to the side of the playground. The memories of that night were still vivid and fresh in his mind. The sadness he felt. The pity.

 

These feelings for Jackson. It felt like a betrayal. A betrayal of the trust Isaac placed in him that night and every day since then. _This is so messed up,_ Scott thought. How could he be here? In the middle of this complicated shitstorm of a love life he didn’t even think was possible six months ago. That a boy would completely and totally take over his life.

 

He put on his helmet, started the engine of his bike, and headed home.

 

The streets were empty, the only illumination coming from the street lights that ran up and down the sidewalks. The house looked just as he left it, dark and silent. He quietly walked up the stairs to his room. When he turned the knob he heard a small voice from down the hall. “Hey, you ok?” Isaac. “I heard you leave.”

 

“Yeah,” Scott said. He could barely make out Isaac’s shape in the shadows. “Everything’s fine.” He smiled, not knowing if Isaac could see or not.

 

“Where did you go?”

 

“Just a walk,” Scott said with as much casualness as he could muster. “I just needed to get a little air.”

 

There was silence at the end of the hall. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

 

“I’m fine, Isaac. Go back to bed.”

 

“Ok,” he said. “Goodnight.”

 

“Goodnight.” Scott heard Isaac’s door click shut and he let out a sigh of breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He opened his door and went inside, crashing on his bed. Sleep took him almost immediately. Let tomorrow’s problems be tomorrow’s problems.

 

*

 

 

 Scott was holding on to the last remnants of last night’s dream when a knock came at the door. “What?” he said, eyes still closed.

 

The door to his room opened softly. “Honey, you awake?”

 

“Well I am now, mom.” He opened his eyes and watched her come over to the side of his bed. Her eyes glanced at the floor and a frown appeared on her face. “What?” Scott asked, annoyed.

 

Melissa picked up the clothes he’d worn last night and put them in the laundry basket beside his dresser. “The laundry basket is there for a reason, ya know?”

 

Scott sat up on his elbows. “Did you wake me up just to scold me about my cleanliness?”

 

“No-,” she was interrupted by a loud bark coming from downstairs. She threw her hands up, “Oh, my god. That dog will not sit down for a second. I think he’s been inside too long. Why don’t you take him for a walk or something? Let him get some fresh air, tire him out a little.”

 

Scott head hit the pillow, “Ugh! It’s too early for this.”

 

Melissa raised an eyebrow, “Honey, it’s eleven thirty. It hasn’t been ‘early’ for four hours.” _Damn,_ Scott thought. He hadn’t slept this late in months. She started walking toward the door. “Come on, it’ll be good for the dog! Take Isaac with you if you want some company! I’m sure he’d love to go!” and disappeared down the hall.

 

That’s exactly what Scott didn’t need right now. _I need time to think about what I’m going to say. How to tell him._

 

He got up, threw on a neon green t-shirt and black sweatpants and headed out the door. He glanced down the hall. Isaac’s door was closed and there seemed to be no sound coming from inside. _I’ll let him sleep,_ Scott thought.  Scooby, as if he knew exactly what was about to happen, was waiting by the door. Scott kneeled down and petted the chocolate lab. “Sup, dog? How are you?” Scooby started licking his face and Scott jumped back reflexively. He couldn’t stand getting licked by dogs. “I don’t care if people say your mouth is cleaner, I know where it’s been.”

 

“You ready?”

 

Scott turned to the voice at the top of the stairs behind him. Isaac was coming down the stairs holding a long navy blue leash. He was wearing a grey zip up hoodie over a white shirt and black basketball shorts. The way the morning light hit him, the way it made his bright blue eyes glow and his smile shine as he stood in front of him made Scott’s heart quicken as it had every day for weeks. He had to look away, back to the dog to hide the redness that was no doubt spreading across his face. “You’re coming?” Scott asked surprised. He started for the kitchen to get something to drink before he left.

 

“Yeah,” Isaac said, following. “I thought we could use the time to talk.”

 

_Shit._ Scott opened the refrigerator. “Totally. What do you wanna talk about?” He grabbed two water bottles and closed the door. He turned to find Isaac leaning against the entrance to the kitchen and felt another rush. _Does this kid even have a bad angle?_

Scott saw a smile play at his lips. “ _Us_ , I guess.” 

He walked over to wear Isaac was leaning and held out one of the bottles. “Sure, ok. Good.” _So much for waiting,_ Scott thought. “I do too.” He felt himself brace for what was coming. Isaac was still fragile emotionally. He has made a lot of progress in the last few months with his therapy and having Scooby in his bed at night has reduced his nightmares significantly. But part of Scott still felt like that scared boy on the bench was just beneath the surface.

 

_“I played the part. I acted like I was ok… they believed me.”_

Scott couldn’t deny the feelings he had for Isaac. While new, they were strong. So much so that not a single hour seemed to pass without Isaac entering his mind. Have those feelings blinded him? Could he be hurting Isaac even more?

Isaac took the water and followed as they walked back to the front door. He squatted down to lock the leash on Scooby’s collar. “You ready for a walk?” he said in a playful voice. Scooby instantly went nuts, jumping around as Scott opened the door.

 

It was only slightly cold out. A small breeze swept through the air as they made their way down the path to the sidewalk and Scott felt a small chill run down his spine. His left hand was shaking slightly as well.

 

No longer the deserted landscape it was the night before the street was filled with young children playing street hockey. When they saw Scooby they gawked. “Scott, you got a dog?” One of the boys yelled excitedly.

 

“We did!” Scott yelled back.

 

“What’s his name?” asked a girl Scott didn’t recognize.

 

“Scooby,” Isaac replied. “He’s a chocolate lab!”

 

“Oh!” The girl smiled wide. “My sister has one of those! Can I pet him?” The girl was already on her way over.

 

“Sure,” Isaac answered, laughing. The girl bent down and began petting Scooby’s back and ears. “Here,” Isaac said as he bent down next to her, smiling as wide as she was. “He likes to be scratched riiight here.” Scooby looked to be in heaven as Isaac and the girl scratched behind his ears.

“My name’s Sarah, what’s yours?” the girl asked in the way only a curious little kid could.

 

“Isaac,” he said.

 

The girl held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Isaac!”

 

Isaac took her hand and shook it. “You too, Sarah!” He looked back up at Scott, still smiling. He looked back at the girl. “Hey, Sarah. Scott and I gotta get going.” The girl started to frown. “But don’t worry!” Isaac said quickly. “We’ll be back and you can play with Scooby for as long as you want!”

 

“Promise?” Sarah asked.

 

“Promise.”

 

She held up her pinky. “Pinky-swear or I doesn’t count!”

 

Isaac looked confused. Slowly he raised his pinky. “Like this?”

 

The little girl curled her pinky finger around his and laughed. “Yeah, dummy! Haven’t you ever made a pinky promise before?” Before he could answer Sarah patted Scooby on the head and returned to her friends. Isaac stood up and watched her as she re-joined the game.

 

Scott looked at him. The ear-to-ear grin that was on his face a second ago was gone. Scott could see it on his face, the longing.

 

“Is it bad that I feel kind of… jealous?” Isaac asked, almost under his breath.

 

Scott put a hand on his shoulder. “No, it’s not bad. Normal. I’d say it’s normal.”

 

Isaac made a half-hearted laugh. “What’s normal?” He turned to Scott. “Come on before _this_ guy gets antsy,” he said, shaking the leash.

 

“Can I talk first?” Scott asked as they rounded the corner of the sidewalk. He didn’t think he could stand letting Isaac go first. Still believing everything was the way it was.

 

“Sure,” Isaac said with a small, innocent smile. “If you want!”

 

“Can we stop, please?” He could still hear the playful sounds of the children playing. The sun was out and the breeze still present. It didn’t seem like the kind of day something like this would happen. Scott had only been through one breakup in his life- Allison. She, the first girlfriend he ever had, however brief, left him for her best friend. She told him she’d never experienced the kind of love that she felt for this girl.

 

At the time Scott couldn’t believe it. She was the first girl he ever felt a connection with. The chemistry between seemed almost meant to be. At least for the most part. During their final talk as boyfriend and girlfriend, Allison had told him she never felt fully ‘right’ being with him. It wasn’t until recently that Scott realized it didn’t feel ‘right’ for him either. The connection they had felt was simply between strong friends and that’s all they’ll ever be.

 

And now it seems history should repeat itself. Though, this time the feelings Scott felt were far more than friendship. Scott fell in love with Isaac and now it has to end. _It has to. For Isaac._

“Isaac, I-,” Scott began before a quick succession of honks came blaring from down the street, cutting him off. Stiles old Jeep came rolling down the street and stopped right beside them. Scott felt nothing but relief.

 

Stiles quickly rolled the window down. “Hey! What are you doing?”

 

Scott looked from Isaac to Scooby and back to Stiles. “Walking our dog. Why?”

 

A smile spread across his face. He seemed almost out of breath. “Ok, there’s a party at Lydia’s tonight and you have to go with me. Her Christmas parties are _always_ awesome and she said I had to bring you and Isaac or I couldn’t come. I swear to God, Scott, if you keep me from this-,”

 

“Stiles!” Scott yelled. “Calm down! Why are you out of breath? And why do we _have_ to go?” he asked with a little laugh.

 

Stiles’ eyes shifted. “I don’t know. I was in a hurry. And hasn’t seen you in a while and she misses your beautiful faces. What the hell do I know? Will you come?”

 

“Can we go?” Isaac asked from behind him. “I’ve never been to a party before.”

 

Stiles’ shot his arm out at Isaac. “See? He’s never been to a party before, Scott! Doesn’t he deserve to go to a party? A really kickass party!”

 

A party did sound like fun and Stiles _did_ pretty much save his ass. Scott sighed, “What time?”

 

“YES!” Stiles said, fist-pumping the air. “I think it’s around nine but I’ll text you!”

 

“Ok, then!” Scott said and he and Isaac turned to head back to the house as Stiles took off.

 

“So we’re really going to a party?” Isaac asked, almost giddy.

 

“Yup,” Scott said. “And it’s Lydia’s!”

 

“Do I have to wear something nice?” Isaac asked.

 

Scott laughed. “Don’t worry about that. We’ll find something.” He turned to look at Isaac. “With any luck, it’ll be a hell of a night!”

 

 


	24. Chapter 24

“I think we’d better head back.”

Scott jumped. He had been resting his head on Isaac’s chest and the sudden noise gave him a start. “Do we have to? What time is it?” he asked.

“About midnight.” Isaac replied. Scott started to trace patterns on Isaac’s chest with his finger. “Hey…” he said sweetly, nudging him a little with the arm he had wrapped around Scott.

“Yeah? Sorry.” Scott smiled. “I really don’t want to go back to reality just yet.” he said. He had never felt comfort like this. He looked up at Isaac. “Don’t make me. Please?”

Isaac thought for a moment and then his lips spread into a great smile. “Since you said please…”

They both laughed-

“What was that?” Isaac said suddenly. He got up onto his elbows.

“What?”

“That sound.” He said. Scott could hear the nervousness in his voice. Isaac’s attention moved toward the tree line. “It sounded like something moving…”

“I didn’t hear anything.” Scott sat up. Isaac was still scanning the trees. “It was probably, like, a raccoon or something.”

Isaac wasn’t listening. “I think we should go. Now.”

Scott could see Isaac was getting worked up. He put a hand on his arm. “Ok, we’ll go. Come on.” They got up and walked toward the clearing where the bike was parked. Scott wrapped an arm around Isaac. “It’s nothing don’t worry. Hey,” he said with excitement. “How about, when we get back, we grab some chocolate ice cream and watch _Toy Story_?” Isaac smiled. _Toy Story_ was Isaac’s favorite movie. “We can cuddle up on the couch and get drunk on ice cream!”

“That sounds great.” Isaac said with a small laugh. He seemed to relax a little.

“Yeah, it does.” Scott kissed him on the cheek. “Let’s get outta here.” As Scott climbed on-

_CRACCCK._

This time the sound was loud and clear. Both of their heads whipped around to the pathway that lead through the woods and to the road.

“Did you-?” Isaac began.

“Yes,” Scott said.

“It’s closer…”

Both boys remained still, listening for anything. Something was out there- that was clear. “Get on. Quick.” Scott whispered. Isaac didn’t waste a second. He climbed on behind Scott, not bothering to put on his helmet.

Scott’s heart was beating faster now. He knew whatever it was out there in the darkness was likely a squirrel or raccoon or any number of nocturnal creature but the unknown was enough to overpower any rational thoughts.

Scott lifted his leg to start the engine but in that moment a deep low growl escaped the darkness behind them.

Scott immediately started the bike and quickly turned it around, sending dirt and grass flying. He turned the handle as far down as it would go and sped toward the path leading out of the forest. His heart was beating quicker now. Isaac’s grip tightened as his speed grew faster and faster. The trees on either side were a blur in the moonlight. Out of the corner of his left eye Scott could see a shadow keeping pace with him. He turned his head.

“What the hell is that?!” He heard Isaac yell.

He didn’t know but it was unbelievably fast and seeming to be getting closer, its shape getting larger and larger. He glimpsed glowing yellow eyes.

Isaac shouted. “There’s two!”

Scott looked to his right and saw another shadow closing in.

He never saw the third as it leapt right at them.

***

It felt like a knife was stuck in his brain. Bright sunlight blinded him as his senses started to return and he opened his eyes. He could hear the birds singing and a slight breeze causing the branches of the trees to sway. His bike was a broken heap a few yards from where he was lying.

_Isaac._

Scott looked around for any sign of him. “Isaac?” Nothing. “Isaac!?” he said a bit louder. Again, nothing but silence. Panic gripped him. “ISAAC!!” he screamed. Pain ripped through his side. He clutched his shirt and tried to ride out the pain. It was excruciating. When it subsided he pulled his hand away and saw that it was covered in dried blood. His other hand matched.

_What the hell?_

Scott searched his body for a wound. A massive bruise covered the left side of his ribs. It was a mix of dark blue, purple, and yellow. _I fractured a rib_ , he thought. _Or worse._ Every breath elicited a sharp pain.

He struggled getting to his feet, holding his side. He looked around again. “ISAAC!” he screamed and again pain tore through him. He collapsed to his knees.

“Isaac…” he whispered, tears forming in his eyes. “Where are you…?”

The pain started to ease and a sudden thought came to him.

No one knew he and Isaac were out here. His panic intensified at the prospect of dying out here. After all, the things that attacked him could still be out here for all he knew. He slowly got himself up off the ground. He took a step and immediately collapsed as his right leg exploded in pain. He laid there until it stopped. Not only was something wrong with his ribs but now his leg as well.

He attempted to stand once more, this time placing all of his weight on his left leg. His head was slightly dizzy now, the forest around him a blur as his eyes adjusted. When his vision was as clear as it was going to get he tried to walk. He gently moved his right leg forward, placing his hand on a nearby tree trunk for support. He felt a little bit of pain as he moved forward but it was manageable. Like this he walked, inch by inch, down the path searching for any sign of Isaac or the animals that attacked them.

There was nothing.

After what seemed like hours he made it to the road. A car was coming around the distant curve in the road. The car slowed to a stop when the driver spotted Scott. The driver quickly got out of the car and rushed to his side. “Help…” was all Scott could get out before he was swallowed into darkness.


	25. Chapter 25

He heard voices through the fog of his mind. People were shouting. To Scott it sounded like a man and a woman were arguing about something.

 

Amidst the noise was the beeping. Constant, incessant beeping. It was annoying. He wanted it to stop.

 

A door opened and the shouting became crystal clear.

 

“Find who did this or I’ll do it myself.”

 

The woman. Her voice sounded familiar. He heard her footsteps coming closer as the door shut behind her. 

 

“Oh, Scott.” She was upset. “Please be ok. Please, please, please.” She touched his hand. “I can’t lose you too.”

 

Her voice faded. Everything was black.

 

“Scott?”

 

A voice. His voice.

 

“Scott.”

 

Scott looked up. It was him. Isaac. He was standing at the foot of the bed. _He’s here. He’s fine._

“Isaac-,” Scott started to say.

 

“Shhh…” Isaac smiled. “You’re going to be ok.” He moved closer and took Scott’s hand in his. Scott had never seen him so calm. “I love you,” he said.

 

Scott’s heart quickened. “I love you too.” That made him smile. Scott looked down at Isaac’s hand holding his. “What happened to you?”

 

Isaac carefully removed his hand. “You have to find that out.”

 

Scott’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What-?”

 

Isaac began to walk away, “Find me, Scott.”

 

Scott sat up, “Where are you going? ISAAC?!”

 

Suddenly he was staring at a ceiling. Harsh lights beat down on him from above. They hurt his eyes. Hands were clutching his arm.

 

“Oh, my god! Scott, honey. You’re awake. Are you ok?”

 

His mother. His eyes were still foggy but he could make out her shape. He lifted his arm with whatever energy he had. She took his hand. “Mom,” he said. His voice was hoarse, barely audible.

 

“Yes, honey. It’s mom.” She held his hand to her cheek and kissed it. “Thank god. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

 

“Isaac…” Scott said. His vision was slowing coming back as the room was coming into focus. He saw his mother’s face. She’d been crying.

 

She shook her head. “I don’t know. No one’s been able to find him.” Scott filled with dread. “What were you guys doing out there so late?”

 

“We…” Scott started. Talking was difficult. “We wanted… to see the moon.”

 

The door to the room opened with a loud click and a doctor came in flanked by two nurses. “You’re awake!” he said, a wide smile on his face. “Good.” He walked over to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Terrible.” Scott replied.

 

He laughed. “Well, after the trauma you experienced that’s to be expected.”

 

“When can I leave?” Scott asked.

 

“Oh, not for a while yet. You’ve sustained several injuries including broken bones and a head laceration.” _That explains the headache._ “Plus, you’ve been unconscious for four days.”

 

The rest of the day was a blur. Nurses came in and out checking and rechecking the many machines around the room. Sometimes they brought food. His mom tried to get him to eat it but Scott was never hungry. Isaac was all he thought about.

 

He must’ve fallen asleep because suddenly the room was very dark. He looked around and saw that his mother had gone. There was a note on the table beside him, his phone sitting next to it. He picked up the note and illuminated it with the light from his phone.

 

_Had to go to work. The hospital is swamped. I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can. Call me if you need anything. I love you so much,_

_Mom_

 

He put the letter back on the table and immediately started dialing his phone. He put it to his hear and waited. _Pick up,_ he thought. _Please pick up._

“Hey-,”

 

“Isaac!” Excitement and relief spread like wildfire through his body.

 

“-you’ve reached Isaac. I can’t come to the phone right now because reasons but I’ll try and call you back as soon as I can. Thanks!” The beep indicating the start of a voicemail rang in his hear.

 

Scott was still. Numb. It was several seconds before he could say anything.

 

“Isaac…” it come out as nothing more than a whisper. “Where are you?”

 

He felt the words catch in his throat. He pushed through.

 

“There… there was a time when I couldn’t imagine life without you. I didn’t want to. It was so foreign to me that I couldn’t even wrap my brain around it. You were here and you were never going to leave.” He felt a tear roll down his cheek. “You’re my best friend. I need you to be ok. I need you to come home. I need you by my side because I don’t think I can keep going without you.”

 

He lowered the phone and put it on the table beside the bed. He was going to be ok. He had to be. The universe didn’t bring them together just for it to end like this. He pulled the covers around himself and tried to sleep.

 

_Bzzzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzzzz._

 

His phone began vibrating violently on the table. Scott shot up and looked at his phone. His mom was calling. He answered.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Scott?! They found him! They found Isaac!”

 

 

 

 

 

 


	28. Chapter 23

_Holy shit,_ Scott thought as he stopped his bike in front of Lydia’s house _._ The line to get in was down the road, cars lined the street and the bass could be felt from a mile away. Lydia lived about 5 miles from town in an enormous two-story house that, at the moment, seemed to be full of wild teenagers. Colorful lights were flashing and dancing silhouettes could be seen through the opaque windows.

 

Scott turned back to Isaac, “You still wanna do this?”

 

To Scott’s surprise, he was grinning ear to ear, his eyes fixed on the chaos in front of him. “Oh, yeah!” He hopped off the bike and went across the street.

 

“Isaac, wait!” But he was already gone. Scott sighed and followed. He looked over the line as he went and realized he didn’t know a single one of them save a few he knew from school. When he reached the door Stiles was there standing with Isaac.

 

His face lit up as he saw Scott. “You came!” He opened his arms wide and grabbed Scott tightly. “Let’s go inside!”

 

Allison was manning the entrance holding a clipboard with what seemed to be names written on it. Scott had forgotten how popular Lydia Martin actually was. “Come on in, boys!” she said with a smile.

 

Stiles bowed as he walked passed her, “Thank you, milady!”

 

She swat him on the arm, “Shut up, ass! And tell Lydia to find someone else to man the door in the next two minutes or I swear to god we’re breaking up! I want to dance, damn it!”

 

“Whatever milady says!” Stiles yelled back and together they made their way into the crowd. The music was almost deafening and wading through the moving bodies was near impossible.

 

Scott felt a sudden tug on his arm. He turned and found Jackson, a smile spreading on his face. “Hey! I didn’t expect to see you here!”

 

Scott turned back to say something to Isaac but both he and Stiles had disappeared into the crowd. He turned back to Jackson. “Yeah, me either. I was kind of dragged along.”

 

“Oh! Well I’m glad you came, anyway! Want a drink?”

 

Scott looked around one more time for any sign of Isaac or Stiles but found none. “Sure,” he said and followed Jackson to the kitchen.

 

The kitchen was almost as packed as the rest of the house. Two huge kegs were sitting on the table surrounded by red plastic cups. Jackson walked over to the counter, pulled a cup off a stack and filled it using one of the kegs. “Here,” he said handing it to Scott.

“Thanks,” Scott said and took a sip. The taste was bitter in his mouth. He hated the taste of beer. He looked around again. _Where_ _could they have gone?_

 

“You ok?” Jackson asked.

 

“What?”

 

“You keep looking over your shoulder.”

 

“Oh, I’m just looking for my friend.”

 

“Ah,” Jackson said, smiling. “Is this your ‘ _friend’_ friend? Or just a friend?”

 

Scott looked down at his cup. “I think that ‘friendship’ is over.”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. What happened?”

 

“I put their needs ahead of mine, that’s all.”

 

Jackson pulled him in and hugged him. “You ok?”

 

“I don’t know,” Scott said. 

 

Jackson released him and said, “You wanna talk about it?”

 

Scott shook his head. “Not really. I just want to… forget, actually.”

 

Jackson nodded. “Alright, then.” He took their drinks and put them on the table. “Come on.” He took Scott’s hand. “Let’s dance.”

 

The dance floor was a mass of moving bodies and flashing lights. It was the closest thing to a rave Scott had ever seen. Jackson pulled him in. “Don’t worry about your problems,” he yelled over the pounding bass of the music. “Just listen to the music. _Forget!_ ”

 

Scott closed his eyes, watching the flashing colorful lights through the shroud of his eyelids and listened. He felt Jackson’s hands on his arms and slowly they made their way down to his waist and soon they were moving as one. Scott wrapped his arms around Jackson’s shoulders and rested his forehead on his and let the moment take him. Occasionally, he’d feel their lips touch but just barely. Just enough to tease.

 

It had been a long time since Scott had felt this free. Eyes still closed, he suddenly saw flashes of curly blond hair and deep blue eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut as much as he could trying to will the images away but they persisted. Scott let his hands run down Jackson’s body, feeling every inch. He was fit, muscular and tight. He could feel every ridge of his abs as he made it down to his the other boy’s waist. But still, those blue eyes stared at him. He couldn’t escape his feelings no matter how hard he tried. Love didn’t work that way.

 

Scott pushed away. He suddenly felt wrong. This wasn’t what he wanted. “I’m sorry.”

 

Jackson furrowed his brow. “Is everything ok?”

 

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this. I have to go.” He turned and left Jackson on the dance floor. He didn’t look back.

 

He searched the many rooms and crowds until he found Isaac. He was leaning in a doorway talking with someone Scott vaguely remembered from school. Isaac’s eyes lit up as Scott approached.

 

“Hey! I was looking for you but there’s like a thousand people here, where’d you go?”

 

A pang of guilt hit Scott in the stomach. “Can we talk?” he yelled.

 

“What?” Isaac yelled back.

 

Scott leaned into his ear. “ _I need to talk to you_!” Isaac nodded and Scott took his hand leading him outside.

 

“What’s up?” Isaac asked as they reached the driveway. “Where are you taking me?”

 

“Just come on.” Scott said as he led Isaac across the street to his bike. “Get on.”

 

“Where leaving?” Isaac asked, confused. “We just got here! I’m having so much fun!”

 

“Just… please. It’s important”

 

Isaac looked at him for a moment. He must have seen the seriousness in Scott’s face because he said, “Ok, sure. Let’s go.”

 

They hopped on the bike and Scott took them out town. They rode into the woods down a familiar path and soon found themselves in a clearing overlooking a lake bathed in moonlight.

 

Scott got off and Isaac followed. “Come on,” Scott said as he took Isaac’s arm and led him to the edge of the lake where land met the water. Scott looked at Isaac and saw the moon reflected in the beautiful dark blue pools that were his eyes. Scott opened his mouth to speak but found himself unable to say the words.

 

“Scott, why did you take me here? Is everything ok?” Isaac’s confusion was mounting and getting closer to concern every second.

 

Scott let out a deep breath. “Everything’s fine.” He couldn’t stop staring. The way his small curls fell on his forehead, the way his pale skin seemed to glow in the moonlight as it always did. He looked down and took Isaac’s hands in his and held them. _So soft, so gentle._

He looked back up. “Isaac…” Isaac held a little tighter but stayed silent. The confusion still secure on his face. “I… love you _so_ much.” Scott could feel his eyes watering. “I convinced myself that what you needed was a family, a brother. Not a… boyfriend.” The words were getting harder to say. “I wanted you to have that. A family. I wanted you to feel safe, and secure and I wanted you to be happy. To live _that_ life instead of another secret.”

 

“I _am_ happy, Scott-“

 

“Just… wait.” Scott interrupted. He took a deep breath to compose himself. “I thought that in order to give you that I’d have to…” His voiced cracked and he felt a tear fall down his cheek. His next words came out small, barely more than a whisper. “That I’d have to give you up.” Scott wiped his face. “I’d have to stop feeling these feelings and stop wanting you every time I looked at you. I stay awake at night laying in my bed knowing your right down the hall and wonder why the hell you can’t be right there, next to me in my arms.

 

“I don’t want this secret, Isaac- I _can’t_. We love you, Isaac. Me, my mother, we love you!” Isaac looked away. “Look at me,” Scott said almost forcefully. He did. “I would live on the god damn streets in a cardboard box if it meant that I could hold your hand and kiss you without giving a _shit_ who sees. I don’t want anyone else, Isaac. I want _you._ I took you here because this,” Scott made a sweeping motion with his arm. “This is where I fell in love with you. And if you think there is anything you could do that would make us love you less, well,” Scott shrugged. “That’s impossible…”

 

Isaac looked at him for a long time.

 

“Please,” Scott pleaded. “Say something,”

 

“Okay,” he whispered finally. Scott pulled him in and wrapped his arms around him tight. “I love you too, Scott.”

 

They stayed there like that in each other’s arms, neither wanting to let go. And Scott thought about this boy who had come to him lost, broken, and alone, no one to call a friend and nowhere to belong. He thought about how blessed he was that they had found each other. That he could possibly feel this kind of unconditional love and comfort and happiness.

 

There, under the moonlight with all the wondrous sounds of nature surrounding them, they kissed, and their entire life together ahead.

 


	29. Chapter 24

“I think we’d better head back.”

Scott jumped. He had been resting his head on Isaac’s chest and the sudden noise gave him a start. “Do we have to? What time is it?” he asked.

“About midnight," Isaac replied. Scott started to trace patterns on Isaac’s chest with his finger. “Hey…” he said sweetly, nudging him a little with the arm he had wrapped around Scott.

“Yeah? Sorry.” Scott smiled. “I really don’t want to go back to reality just yet.” He had never felt comfort like this. He looked up at Isaac. “Don’t make me. Please?”

Isaac thought for a moment and then his lips spread into a great smile. “Since you said please…”

They both laughed-

“What was that?” Isaac said suddenly. He got up onto his elbows.

“What?”

“That sound.” Scott could hear the nervousness in his voice. Isaac’s attention moved toward the tree line. “It sounded like something moving…”

“I didn’t hear anything.” Scott sat up. Isaac was still scanning the trees. “It was probably, like, a raccoon or something.”

Isaac wasn’t listening. “I think we should go. Now.”

Scott could see Isaac was getting worked up. He put a hand on his arm. “Ok, we’ll go. Come on.” They got up and walked toward the clearing where the bike was parked. Scott wrapped an arm around Isaac. “It’s nothing don’t worry. Hey,” he said with excitement. “How about, when we get back, we grab some chocolate ice cream and watch _Toy Story_?” Isaac smiled. _Toy Story_ was Isaac’s favorite movie. “We can cuddle up on the couch and get drunk on ice cream!”

“That sounds great.” Isaac said with a small laugh. He seemed to relax a little.

“Yeah, it does.” Scott kissed him on the cheek. “Let’s get outta here.” Scott started to climb on-

_CRACCCK._

This time the sound was loud and clear. Both of their heads whipped around to the pathway that lead through the woods and to the road.

“Did you-?” Isaac began.

“Yes,” Scott said.

“It’s closer…”

Both boys remained still, listening for anything. Something was out there- that was clear. “Get on. Quick.” Scott whispered. Isaac didn’t waste a second. He climbed on behind Scott, not bothering to put on his helmet.

Scott’s heart was beating faster now. He knew whatever it was out there in the darkness was likely a squirrel or raccoon or any number of nocturnal creature but the unknown was enough to overpower any rational thoughts.

Scott lifted his leg to start the engine but in that moment a deep low growl escaped the darkness behind them.

Scott immediately started the bike and quickly turned it around, sending dirt and grass flying. He turned the handle as far down as it would go and sped toward the path leading out of the forest. His heart was beating quicker now. Isaac’s grip tightened as his speed grew faster and faster. The trees on either side were a blur in the moonlight. Out of the corner of his left eye Scott could see a shadow keeping pace with him. He turned his head.

“What the hell is that?!” He heard Isaac yell.

He didn’t know but it was unbelievably fast and seeming to be getting closer, its shape getting larger and larger. He glimpsed glowing yellow eyes.

Isaac shouted. “There’s two!”

Scott looked to his right and saw another shadow closing in.

He never saw the third as it leapt right at them.

***

It felt like a knife was stuck in his brain. Bright sunlight blinded him as his senses started to return and he opened his eyes. He could hear the birds singing and a slight breeze causing the branches of the trees to sway. His bike was a broken heap a few yards from where he was lying.

_Isaac._

Scott looked around for any sign of him. “Isaac?” Nothing. “Isaac!?” he said a bit louder. Again, nothing but silence. Panic gripped him. “ISAAC!!” he screamed. Pain ripped through his side. He clutched his shirt and tried to ride out the pain. It was excruciating. When it subsided he pulled his hand away and saw that it was covered in dried blood. His other hand matched.

_What the hell?_

Scott searched his body for a wound. A massive bruise covered the left side of his ribs. It was a mix of dark blue, purple, and yellow. _I fractured a rib_ , he thought. _Or worse._ Every breath elicited a sharp pain.

He struggled getting to his feet, holding his side. He looked around again. “ISAAC!” he screamed and again pain tore through him. He collapsed to his knees.

“Isaac…” he whispered, tears forming in his eyes. “Where are you…?”

The pain started to ease and a sudden thought came to him.

No one knew he and Isaac were out here. His panic intensified at the prospect of dying out here. After all, the things that attacked him could still be out here for all he knew. He slowly got himself up off the ground. He took a step and immediately collapsed as his right leg exploded in pain. He laid there until it stopped. Not only was something wrong with his ribs but now his leg as well.

He attempted to stand once more, this time placing all of his weight on his left leg. His head was slightly dizzy now, the forest around him a blur as his eyes adjusted. When his vision was as clear as it was going to get he tried to walk. He gently moved his right leg forward, placing his hand on a nearby tree trunk for support. He felt a little bit of pain as he moved forward but it was manageable. Like this he walked, inch by inch, down the path searching for any sign of Isaac or the animals that attacked them.

There was nothing.

After what seemed like hours he made it to the road. A car was coming around the distant curve in the road. The car slowed to a stop when the driver spotted Scott. The driver quickly got out of the car and rushed to his side. “Help…” was all Scott could get out before he was swallowed into darkness.


End file.
